-The Hindu Business Line Shares of Monsanto India Ltd climb as much as to Rs 2,669, their highest since Sept. 26 The Supreme Court on Tuesday allowed Monsanto Technology to claim patent on its genetically-modified cotton seeds, giving a boost to firms developing new seed technologies. The ruling overturned an order of a Division Bench of the Delhi High Court last year which invalidated the patent granted to Monsanto — acquired by German...

-Livemint.com The government did not visualize there were problems in the way it was designed, the methodology itself was faulty Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), the flagship programme launched with much fanfare in 2016, has run into rough weather. With both the area covered and the number of enrolled farmers declining, the country’s premium crop insurance scheme is certainly in need of an overhaul. While Parliament’s committee on estimates, chaired by senior...

-The Economic Times The world is no stranger to farm debt crises like the one India is seeing today. Back in the 1980s, the Canadian parliament enacted a law to stop foreclosures on farm debt, after prices collapsed and interest rates jumped to as high as 24%. The law was in force for a dozen-odd years. It identified insolvent farmers, facilitated agreements between the borrowers and lenders, and helped some farmers move...

-Newsclick.in The Modi government paid Rs.34,859 crore and farmers paid Rs.7,255 crore to insurance Companies in three crop seasons. Among the series of schemes launched (or repackaged) by the Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance government, one of the most toxic is the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY). Its purpose is to provide crop insurance to farmers, that is, if the crop fails due to some non-preventable reason, such as weather calamity...

-The Indian Express Insecurity, more than poverty or indebtedness, is the key economic issue that politicians must address If social inequality is the most acutely felt social problem in India, insecurity, more than poverty, is the most acutely felt economic problem. While most measures suggest that only around one-fifth of the population today is under the official poverty line, large sections of those even much above that line are subject to...