-Business Today   India's agricultural output this year is expected to be lower than in recent years because of delayed and deficient rainfall and lesser sown area, the government has said. Erratic rains and dry spells in several parts of the country have impacted the production of crops. Due to coverage of lesser area and low productivity, the production of most crops is expected to be lower than the record levels achieved last...

-The Hindu The world cannot afford to talk about hunger without addressing climate change, food production without sustainability or growth without good nutrition With the world's population predicted to reach 9 billion by 2050, we collectively face a dual challenge: ensuring that everyone will have access to affordable, nutritious food without decimating the earth's natural resources in the process. This is easier said than done. Our current food system is dysfunctional both...

-The Indian Express The government is aiming to lend Rs 165,000 crore to the Poor and unbanked population through the overdraft facility at an interest rate of 11 per cent under its ongoing Jan Dhan financial inclusion programme. "It is estimated that there are 18.2 crore basic banking accounts and. by the end of the campaign another 15 crore accounts would get added. An overdraft of Rs 5,000 in each of these...

-The Indian Express Prime Minister Narendra Modi's US visit is likely to throw up highly contentious intellectual property rights issues. Indeed, for the last several years, US drug majors and their European counterparts have lobbied hard to demonise the Indian patent regime. But the government must continue to defend the law and stand its ground. Particularly since our own industrial moguls have caved in and are less vocal about their opposition...

-The Business Standard Make schemes mobile and portable, by focusing on people and not products India spends close to four per cent of its GDP on an alphabet soup of welfare schemes and subsidies - it has become a welfare state before becoming a developed state. Despite its significant costs, India's welfare system is neither comprehensive nor very effective - subject to huge leakages and corruption, and not well knit into...