-Deccan Herald There have been protests by several organisations of fishermen, including those of deep-sea artisanal fisher folk in several coastal states against the recommendations of an expert committee that reviewed India's marine fishing policy and the existing guidelines for deep-sea fishing in the country's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). The Union agriculture ministry's Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries (DAHD&F), through an order on August 1, 2013 constituted an expert committee...

-The Hindu With the Land Acquisition Bill in the limelight, nobody is talking about the real reforms that farmers need. A major survey finds that almost half the respondents don't want to continue with agriculture. The unseasonal rains over the last few weeks have resulted in enormous loss of crop output across many States of North India. This has shifted attention from the issue of land acquisition to other important problems faced...

-The Telegraph Shillong: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has "disapproved" of the Meghalaya government's not formulating appropriate policies and guidelines for coal mining while it found "no merit" in the government's defence for its inability to execute the tribunal's orders. "Without hesitation, we record our disapproval for the said conduct of the state of Meghalaya in not formulating appropriate policy and guidelines despite orders of the tribunal, even after lapse of a...

-LiveMint.com Panel suggests floor price for foodgrain at a 10% premium to costs; safety net to kick in if prices fall below MSP New Delhi: In what could restore the terms of trade in favour of agriculture, a government panel has recommended a new cost-linked minimum support price (MSP) and a safety net for farmers. The recommended MSP, or the floor price for foodgrain, will be at a 10% premium to costs,...

Is it the case that lack of Central financial assistance is restricting the growth of Gram Nyayalayas? Available Government documents and reports corroborate this doubt.   Shri Kapil Sibal who was the Law and Justice Minister during the UPA rule while answering a question on 18 December, 2013 said that since the commencement of the Gram Nyayalayas Act, 2008, an amount of Rs. 3425.8 lakh was provided to the states as...