-The Indian Express According to the Cooperative Department website, the three societies, which are currently under investigation, have waived loans of 3,073 farmers. Jaipur: Several residents of Govadi village in Rajasthan’s Dungarpur district on Saturday discovered that they were beneficiaries of the farm loan waiver announced by the previous BJP government in the state. However, the realisation soon led to confusion among the residents as they had never taken an agricultural...

-The Hindu Business Line The Centre and States must eschew the politically expedient option of loan waivers and look for long-term solutions The sweeping wave of loan waivers has generated serious debates across the country on their economics and likely outcomes. Till date 12 States have announced loan waiver amounting to more than Rs.2 lakh crore. loan waiver cannot be a solution to address the agrarian crisis, instead the government must look for...

-The Hindu A majority of men in Bogidari in Chirang district have worked at some point in Meghalaya’s coal mines BOGIDARI: Mohammad Hussain Sheikh recalls how a letter from the sirdar (manager and mine supervisor) of a Meghalaya coal mine in 2002 had helped him heave a big sigh of relief. It simply read: “You are hired. Come before the season starts in a few days.” Mr. Sheikh, now 48, was desperate...

-The Hindu Business Line To help farmers, a long-term plan to improve input delivery, irrigation and rural infrastructure is a must Some 60 years ago, the country’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru said: “Everything can wait except agriculture”. But for the last two decades, agriculture has been waiting even as the economy has continued to make rapid strides. The country is today paying a price for the omissions and commissions of successive governments...

-The Economic Times Despite substantial increase in agriculture production and productivity levels over the years, farmers’ indebtedness has not changed significantly. According to the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) All India Rural Financial Inclusion Survey (Nafis) 2016-17, 52.5% of agricultural households were indebted. Considerable efforts have been taken in channelising institutional credit to farmers and raising farm credit disbursement targets, with allocations increasing by Rs 1 lakh crore in...