-The Hindu Business Line Total burden could swell to Rs. 2.7 lakh cr New Delhi: Farm loan waivers could be detrimental to the economy as they could reduce aggregate demand by 0.7 per cent of GDP, imparting a significant deflationary shock to the economy, the Survey said. There is visible farm stress, even though it is not as widespread as it is made out to be, the Survey said, adding that the drastic...

-The Indian Express The failure of populist rural credit schemes stems primarily from poor understanding of farm indebtedness in the first place. From the 1970s, a lot of private investment in tube-well irrigation, farm mechanisation and allied agricultural activities took place with bank credit support. After the establishment of National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) in 1982, institutional credit flows not only accelerated, but also exhibited diversification to fund livestock...

-The Indian Express Bengal, which recently witnessed communal violence in Basirhat, has had 26 incidents and 3 deaths until May, as compared to 32 incidents (4 deaths) for entire 2016. The current year has seen 296 incidents of communal violence so far, with 44 deaths, according to data released by the home ministry in Parliament. The previous two years in their entirety saw 703 deaths (2016) and 751 (2015), with 86 and...

-NDTV A bench, headed by Justice M B Lokur, directed the Centre to set up state food commissions, as mandated under the National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013, even in the states not hit by drought. New Delhi: Judges cannot run a government and ask it to do "miracles", Attorney General K K Venugopal today told the Supreme Court while opposing fresh pleas being made by NGO 'Swaraj Abhiyan' in a...

-The Indian Express The woes of pulses farmers and traders like Kagi can be put down to all-time-high imports of 6.6 mt (valued at Rs 28,524.05 crore) on top of a record domestic production of 22.4 mt in 2016-17 — made worse by the weak, behind-the-curve policy response whether to do with trade or stockholding restrictions. Agriculture in India has always suffered from lethargic and uncoordinated policy response. And there can be...