-The Hindu Business Line Basmati, bovine exports have already plateaued New Delhi: With export earnings from basmati and bovine meat — the flagship agricultural and processed export sectors — hitting a plateau, the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) is exploring newer avenues, Chairman Devendra Kumar Singh said on Wednesday. According to data available with APEDA, export earnings from agricultural and processed food products have drastically dropped from $21.5 billion...

-The New Indian Express HYDERABAD: While the last few months were filled with optimism as groundwater levels in the state were being reported to be better due to good monsoon rains in 2016, same is not going to be the case now. As per the July groundwater report released by Telangana State Groundwater Department (TSGWD) groundwater levels have already started to fall in some districts, while in many districts it is just...

-Livemint.com Farm loan waivers will strain the finances of States, and harm both farmers and banks over the long run In its policy statement released last week, the monetary policy committee (MPC) of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) pointed out that the implementation of farm loan waivers across States could hurt the finances of States and make them throw good money after bad, and stoke inflation. How much of an impact will...

-The Indian Express Agriculture education is in a poor state. ICAR must be revamped Although autarky on Indian farms is a distant dream, as the 71st year of Independence dawns, penury-ridden farmers are still committing suicide by the thousands— a consequence of decades of short-sightedness, while economists and scientists are still equating food sufficiency to farmer sustainability. The occasion merits introspection on the core issues of farmers’ distress. We must begin at the...

-The Hindu BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh and NDA-ruled Bihar were among the worst performers The Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation on Tuesday released the findings of the survey of 1.4 lakh rural households, undertaken by the Quality Council of India (QCI) between May and June this year. The survey, covering 4626 villages across all States and Union territories, claimed that 62.45% of the households had access to a toilet. The survey also pointed that...