-The Hindu Rather than just increased budgetary outlays, farmers need plans that will rescue them from crop failure Similar to the last two Budgets, this year’s pro-agriculture intentions are palpable through increased outlays to the agricultural sector and initiation of various programmes. They seem impressive, but closer scrutiny shows that the measures may be of little help to stem the tide of agrarian distress. There are some real challenges confronting three...

-Down to Earth The All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee says that the state government arrested farmer leaders on Tuesday to preempt an upcoming protest   In order to pre-empt a farmers' protest around the legislative assembly February 22, the Rajasthan government cracked down on farmer leaders, according to a statement by the All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC), an association of 194 farmer groups across the country. The state government arrested...

-Outlook A tax holiday is expected to push more farmers to turn entrepreneurial The Budget’s announcement of a five-year tax holiday for Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) with a turnover of up to Rs 100 crore came as a relief to the thousands of farmers who are members of around 4,000 such companies in the country.  In December 2017, a sizeable number of farmers gathered at a national conference org­anised in Pune were...

-The Financial Express The scheme, part-funded by the World Bank, aims at pushing recharge of groundwater sources and efficient use at the local level. Rapidly-depleting groundwater in nearly a third of the blocks that were assessed in a study by the Central Ground Water Board (CWGB) has caused, The Times of India reports, the Centre to put the Rs 6,000-crore Atal Bhujal Yojana on fast-track. The scheme, part-funded by the World Bank,...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The Centre has called a two-day national conference on February 19-20 to discuss farm distress and find a permanent solution. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the valedictory round on the second day and review the suggestions emerging from the brainstorming. The conference will be inaugurated by agriculture minister Radha Mohan Singh at the Pusa complex. In April, the ministry will call a meeting of...