-The Hindu Under the Pradhan Mantri Annadata Aay Sanrakshan Abhiyan scheme, only 1.08 lakh tonnes have Been procured so far. Less than 3% of this season’s sanctioned amount of pulses and oilseeds have actually Been procured so far under the once-hyped PM-AASHA scheme, Agriculture Ministry data show. Arrivals of these crops began in October and will end by February. A total of 37.59 lakh metric tonnes of procurement had Been sanctioned under the...

-PTI There is the limited scope of contempt petition and the NGO can file a separate petition seeking directions for effective functioning, it said. NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court Monday refused to pass any direction with regard to "effective functioning" of anti-corruption ombudsman Lokpal and disposed of a contempt plea filed by an NGO which had sought the appointment of the country's first anti-graft authority. There is the limited scope of contempt petition...

-Financial Express A study by ICRIER researchers Ashok Gulati and Pritha Banerjee shows how problematic the fertiliser policy is—for farmers, industry, the environment and the government. India’s experience with fertilisers, in the later part of the Green Revolution, prompted it to adopt a policy of subsidising fertilisers. In 1977, the country had a total NPK (nitrogenous, phosphatic and potassic) fertiliser consumption of 4.3 million metric tonnes (mmt) and per hectare usage...

-Down to Earth The multinational had sued four farmers in April, triggering a controversy that has now Been reignited Farmers in Gujarat have sowed a variety of potato seeds registered by multinational PepsiCo, in a symbolic protest against the food and beverage corporation, a farmer leader told Down To Earth (DTE). “In the last four days, more than 500 farmers have come forward to sow the FC-5 variety of seeds which our organisation...

-The Hindu Such an ambiguity has serious implications for the design and beneficiaries of schemes meant to help them Who is a farmer? What is the government’s definition of a farmer and how many farmers are there in India by that definition? Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar failed to answer that question when it was asked in Parliament last week. The government’s ambiguity has serious implications for the design and beneficiaries of the...