-Business Standard A monsoon deficit is likely to affect the agriculture output, which could have an impact on the food inflation The sharp fall in inflation over the past few months has raised the clamour for interest rate cuts. With the Consumer Price Index (CPI) falling to 5.5 per cent in October from 6.5 per cent a month ago, which is below the central bank's target of six per cent by January...

-The Hindu Business Line Now that the gains from the first round have petered out, we need to embrace biotech to boost farm productivity As India seeks to ignite the next agrarian revolution, it must try and absorb some of the lessons of the Green Revolution. Currently, agricultural productivity and growth vary from State to State, resulting in regional disparities. Through targeted policymaking, investment in rural infrastructure and research, and ongoing support...

Despite high prices of fruits and vegetables, India's area under horticultural crops - mainly fruits, vegetables, spices and flowers - has doubled in around twenty years (between 1991-92 and 2012-13). This has resulted in increase in production of horticultural crops nearly threefold (2.8 times). A new report from the Ministry of Agriculture says that the area under horticultural crops during this period rose from 12.77 million hectares to 23.69 million...

-The Business Standard   NC Saxena, a former member of the National Advisory Council believes that the regulatory regime in the states continues to be oppressive. In an e-mailed interview with Aditi Phadnis, Saxena says that the fundamental problem in India is the low tax-GDP ratio and neither the last government nor the current one seems interested in increasing revenues. Edited excerpts: * The new government appears to be watering down a lot...

-United Nations Food markets are more stable and prices for most agricultural commodities are sharply lower than they have been in recent years, according to the latest edition of the biannual Food Outlook report released today by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). According to a statement released by the Rome-based FAO, bumper harvests and abundant stockpiles are key factors helping drive down international food prices. World wheat production in 2014...