-The Telegraph In the desert-like barrenness of brown around him, Suresh Mangsuli is growing grapes. As the rest of his drought-hit village thirsts for drinking water, he splashes his three acres of vines with over 10,000 litres a day. His huge farm pond is brimming, insured against seepage by a black polythene sheet stretched across its floor. Its water is pumped out to irrigate the vineyard through a network of drip pipes. Growing grapes...

-IANS In view of the looming drought situation in Jharkhand, the state government has announced a Rs.410 crore relief package for farmers, an official said Monday. The decision was taken at a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Arjun Munda Sunday. The special package for farmers includes Rs.600 per acre for diesel subsidy and interest free loans, among other measures. "From the package, Rs.240 crore will be for interest free loans, Rs.150 crore for diesel...

-The Times of India The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) has sounded an alert over a deficient monsoon, directing ministries to help states facing drought-like situations by operationalizing contingency plans to distribute seeds, augment fodder and power and deal with drinking water shortages. PMO said the monsoon season rainfall is likely to be 92% of the long-term average (LPA), less than the 96% LPA predicted in June that itself was a downgrade from...

-Inclusion.in There is good news. And there’s bad news. The good news first. There’s been a bumper wheat crop and the granaries are overflowing. And the bad news? Where do we begin? A lot of that grain will rot. Millions will still remain hungry. Heavily in debt and distressed, farmers are committing suicide. Food prices are soaring. There’s more… Farmers don’t have money. Their land is too small and isn’t yielding much. Fertilisers and...

While any loss in production following the dry spell will further hit the growth story, it will also push up food inflation. considerably. Once again the rain gods are playing truant. With 31 per cent shortfall in June, and with an expectation of only 70 per cent of the predicted 96 per cent rainfall for the July-August months, crucial for farming operations, kharif sowings have already been hit.   In June alone,...