-The Telegraph The Left in Bengal had often criticised him whenever he red-flagged excessive local tyranny, and spoke about the industrial decline in Bengal. The incumbent ruling party may make tall claims about changes in Bengal since the Trinamul government came to power but he has been candid enough to suggest that he hasn't seen much change either in industrial expansion or in investment in infrastructure. Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has...

-TheWire.in The proposed Market Assurance Scheme should not leave states to fend for themselves when it comes to price support for farmers, especially as the agrarian crisis is one that is caused mainly by central policies. The Budget season, that too in the last full year before the 2019 general elections, brings the debate back to agriculture in the country. Apart from several farmers’ struggles across the country, including the unprecedented unified...

-Livemint.com The committee’s suggestions on major reforms include an overhaul of the Union agriculture ministry New Delhi: In a detailed action plan for doubling farmers’ incomes, a top government panel has proposed major reforms to the existing administrative structure. This includes an overhaul of the Union agriculture ministry, setting up a three-tier planning and review mechanism through district, state and national level committees and an annual ease of doing agribusiness survey. The committee on...

-The Indian Express The dairies are blaming the current situation on the crash in international skimmed milk powder (SMP) prices Puntamba (Maharashtra): Since early September, Nitin Dhanvate’s dairy farm business has gone for a toss. Till around then, the 33-year-old from this village in Ahmednagar district’s Rahata taluka was receiving Rs 28 per litre for the milk containing 3.5 per cent fat and 8.5 per cent SNF (solids-not-fat) he was supplying to...

-Hindustan Times Unless consumer preferences shift to climate resistant crops, goals associated with the policy won’t materialise After a gap of three years, the Karnataka government has reintroduced ragi/finger millet in its public distribution system (PDS). To feed the PDS system, the government has announced a procurement price much higher than the market price and introduced bonuses. With interventions on the sides of both production as well as consumption, the objectives are...