A task force, set up by the agriculture ministry, has recommended a slew of measures to increase India’s stagnating grain production. The panel has advised adoption of new technologies, water conservation and more efficient water management, especially in Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh—known as ‘the food bowl of India’. The task force also suggests taking green revolution to the eastern region. It is hopeful that the measures would check...

The goal of food for all can be achieved only through sustained efforts in producing, saving and sharing foodgrains. The Supreme Court of India has rendered great service by arousing public, professional and political concern about the co-existence of rotting grain mountains and mounting hungry mouths. In several African countries hunger is increasing because food is either not available in the market, or is too expensive for the poor. Food inflation...

KEY TRENDS   • Section 105 of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in the Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, which provides for excluding 13 Central legislation, including Land Acquisition (Mines) Act 1885, Atomic Energy Act, 1962, Railway Act 1989, National Highways Act 1956 and Metro Railways (Construction of Works) Act, 1978, from its purview, has been amended for payment of compensation with rigours $ • The amendments have now...

The prime minister, in his Independence Day address said: “I am happy that the growth rate of our agriculture has increased substantially in the last few years. But we are still far from achieving our goal. We need to work harder so that we can increase the agricultural growth rate to 4% per annum” . Is it possible? If so how? The production shortage of wheat in India in 2006...

The kharif acreage has exceeded the last year's level by 78.93 lakh hectares. The Crop and Weather Watch Group in the Ministry of Agriculture, at its meeting on Friday, noted that the crops were so far sown in 950.22 lakh hectares as against 871.29 lakh hectares in the corresponding period last year. As per the data received from States, paddy has been sown in 312.42 lakh hectares as compared to 293.24 lakh...