-Down to Earth There is a widespread availability of inferior quality as well as spurious biofertiliser and organic fertiliser products across the country The availability, quality and uptake of biofertilisers and organic fertilisers in India is poor, flagged a new report. These non-chemical options are considered critical to the transition from chemical-based to sustainable farming practices like organic and natural farming. The availability of cost-effective quality biofertilisers and organic fertilisers is, therefore, of...

-Newsclick.in The central government has raked in over Rs18 lakh crore from excise duties compared to Rs14 lakh crore from taxes by all state governments over the past eight years. Yet again, the government has tried to obfuscate the exorbitant petrol/diesel prices by blaming state governments. This time, it was the Prime Minister himself who blamed some Opposition-ruled states for not reducing taxes like the Value Added Tax (VAT) after the central...

-NITI Aayog Working Paper, ISBN: 978-81-953811-7-3 Abstract -  The importance of agriculture in an economy usually declines as it climbs the development ladder. Raising agriculture productivity has been known to be an important precursor. Labour productivity in agriculture can either be increased by higher land productivity or higher land availability per farmer and mechanisation. In India, however, the dramatic increase in land productivity through industrial farming has caused severe environmental damage and...

-The Telegraph Drug helps patients recover from fever in an average of three days and from cough in four days A painkiller called indomethacin prescribed for arthritis and spondylitis is an effective treatment for mild or moderate Covid-19, Chennai-based researchers have told India’s apex health research agency, seeking its inclusion in Covid-19 treatment guidelines. The researchers have submitted what they claim are “striking” study results, indicating that patients of mild or moderate Covid-19...

-Hindustan Times As per this system, the Andhra government would pay the cash amount to the people in place of their ration quota of rice supplied through fair price shops under the public distribution system. Hyderabad: The YS Jagan Mohan Reddy government in Andhra Pradesh has come out with a direct cash transfer scheme for the consumers who do not want to take rice under the public distribution system from fair price...