-The Hindu Business Line A short delay does not impact sowing as there is a sufficient window The onset of monsoon over Kerala has been less than reassuring. Not only is it late by five days compared with the normal date of June 1, but it has also failed to arrive in the eight-day window set around the median of May 30. The conspicuous lack of flourish has led many to doubt...

-Deccan Herald Poor monsoon forcing govt to intensify implementation Notwithstanding the scathing attack on UPA’s schemes, the Modi government would fall back on the previous regime’s flagship programme to rescue the rural economy from second consecutive deficient monsoon. The government would intensify implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) in drought hit areas to stop the slide in rural incomes. Officials revealed that the main thrust in MGNREGA implementation in drought affected...

-Outlook Pulses are falling off the poor man’s plate. Price rise may hit the middle class next. Pulses—all-important as a source of protein—are set to be spoilers this year in the government’s endeavour to keep a check on food inflation. Already, over the last nine months, the prices of some pulses have jumped 64 per cent in major cities. This is because of below-normal monsoon last year, compounded by untimely rain and...

-DNA Govt gears up to ring-fence Farmers, prices from poor rains India's farm sector shrank for the first time in five years in the year ended March 31, Union agriculture minister Radha Mohan Singh said on Wednesday, a day after the government forecast a likely drought this year that could hit output again. The Met office cut this year's monsoon forecast on an El Nino weather pattern that has raised fears of...

-Livemint.com The govt is taking steps to check rising prices of pulses and may import more to meet domestic demand, says minister New Delhi: The Union government is taking steps to minimize the impact of a likely deficit monsoon on agricultural production and the overall economy, farm minister Radha Mohan Singh said on Wednesday. “We are prepared with contingency plans for 580 districts and are reviewing these on a daily basis. We...