-Livemint.com Spending on irrigation, crop insurance to be doubled; e-platform to be developed for farm produce New Delhi: The government is set to double annual spending on irrigation and crop insurance, and develop a national digital platform for farm produce in order to ensure better prices for farmers, as part of a push to reduce rural distress following the first back-to-back drought in India in three decades. “We’re expecting that the new...

-Economic and Political Weekly Agriculture cannot be revived without a different approach to water, soil, crops and research. For the second year in succession, rainfall in the monsoon season has been less than normal. As many as 302 out of the 640 districts in the country have been declared drought-hit and the impact of the drought is the severest in nine major states of south, central and east India. It is striking...

-The Financial Express Turning agriculture around should be the top priority of government in the new year. India became the world’s fastest-growing economy in 2015. Indian agriculture, however, fared much worse. Agriculture grew only by 0.2% in FY15. Two consecutive years of drought, unseasonal rains in rabi season and falling food prices in global markets have driven farmers to desperation. Turning agriculture around should be the top priority of government in the...

-Business Standard Allocation boost likely for schemes on agriculture, irrigation, rural roads In a move to boost rural consumption and alleviate distress in the hinterland, the government is likely to give an allocation push in Budget 2016 to programmes on irrigation, rural roads, soil health cards and agriculture. According to officials, the Union Budget for 2016-17 could see a significant increase in allocation to marquee programmes like the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana,...

-Business Standard Readies White Paper on agriculture, energy, manufacturing and social development Taking forward its project of creating a national agenda in consultation with the states, the NITI Aayog will soon come out with policy papers on critical sectors such as agriculture, infrastructure, energy, manufacturing and social development. These strategic documents incorporate suggestions from state government and seek to address their concerns. Each White Paper will not only highlight key challenges facing the...