-Livemint.com Change of definition behind fall rather than plan for bettering lot of poor farmers, improving agricultural economy New Delhi: Between 2013 and 2014, the number of farmer suicides halved. That’s what the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) which tracks farmer suicides would have us believe. It isn’t an improvement in India’s agricultural economy or a programme aimed at bettering the lot of poor farmers that has achieved this. Instead, it is a...

-The Hindu Chhattisgarh records the fourth highest in the country. With 2,568 farmers’ suicides during 2014, Maharashtra recorded the highest number in the country, though activists pointed out that the number was far higher. The data released on Friday by the National Crime Records Bureau also show that Chhattisgarh is among the top four States in farmers’ suicides. According to the NCRB, Maharashtra recorded 578 fewer suicides than 2013, when 3,146 farmers ended their...

-Hindustan Times Mumbai: Just how much debt does it take for a farmer in the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra to take the extreme step of killing himself? The shocking findings of a new study reveal it could be as little as Rs 10,000. Days after fresh data from the National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) revealed that Maharashtra has the highest number of suicides by distressed farmers among all states, a new analysis...

-The Indian Express Response to the crisis of farmer suicides is narrowly focused. Poor health accounts for most suicides, necessitating improved access to healthcare rather than special packages For over a decade, farmer suicides in India has been a serious public policy concern. More recently, this has led to a shrill media outcry and much politicking. The government response to the crisis of farmer suicide has mostly been simplistic and sometimes aggravating....

There is a class angle to farmers' suicide in India. Close to three-quarter of farmers who committed suicide in 2014 were small and marginal farmers. ‘Bankruptcy or indebtedness’ accounted for one-fifth of total farmers’ suicide during 2014. The report entitled Accidental Deaths & Suicides in India 2014 by the National Crime Records Bureau of Ministry of Home Affairs clarifies the doubt that indebtedness and bankruptcy were major causes of farmers' suicide,...