-The Financial Express In Madhya Pradesh’s tribal districts of Dewas and Khargone, the NGO, Samaj Pragati Sahayog, discourages cash transactions for agricultural inputs. The interest rates are usurious and vary according to commodities. For fertiliser, it is dheda—loan for the stuff has to be repaid 1.5 times over by the end of the harvest season. For pesticides it is sawa, or 1.25 times. Even barter can be extortionate. One quintal of...
More »SEARCH RESULT
From plate to plough: Growth amidst gloom -Ashok Gulati
-The Indian Express Agriculture GDP bucks the trend of decline in other sectors. But can the government help the farmers sustain this growth? The first advanced estimates of GDP growth for the financial year 2016-2017 (FY17) show a marginal decline from 7.6 per cent last year to 7.1 per cent this year. Of the various sectors, gross value added at basic prices (2011-12), mining and quarrying is down from 7.4 per cent...
More »PM Fasal Bima Yojana not reaching farmers who really need it -Rajalakshmi Nirmal
-The Hindu Business Line Non-loanee farmers availing insurance may be far fewer than data claim Last January, Prime Minister Narendra Modi introduced a new crop insurance scheme with the aim of bringing 50 per cent of the country’s farmers under insurance cover in three years. Data shows that in kharif 2016 — the first season after the scheme’s launch — crop insurance coverage had risen. However, despite the Centre’s claims, this growth is...
More »Reward the cash-hit, says Sangh's labour arm
-PTI Pune: The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh's labour arm has asked the Narendra Modi government to take note of the "immediate adverse side effects" of demonetisation while welcoming what it called a "rare" opportunity to help those less privileged. The Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh also cautioned the government against pressuring people to go digital. "We take serious note of the immediate adverse side effects like defects in implementation, cash shortage, slowdown in market, job losses,...
More »Public Accounts Committee can't summon PM Narendra Modi to answer note ban queries
-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Public Accounts Committee chair K V Thomas had to backtrack on his remarks suggesting PM Narendra Modi could be summoned to answer queries on demonetisation with the panel concluding that this is against rules. The meeting of the PAC on Friday saw BJP members vehemently object to Thomas's comments, arguing that he had quoted precedents incorrectly and rules governing financial committee do not permit calling ministers...
More »