Situation alarming: More than one-third population hit by drought   The country is facing severe drought for the second consecutive year. Conservative estimates from official sources show that over a quarter of rural habitations are facing drinking water scarcity. Although both India Meteorological Department and Skymet have predicted a more than normal rainfall during June-September, 2016, the water storage available in 91 major reservoirs of the country has declined from 22 percent...

-Livemint.com The study says that only 7.73 million hectares in India, compared to a potential 69.5 million hectares, were covered under micro-irrigation by March 2015 New Delhi: Farming uses over 90% of India’s fresh water, but despite the potential savings micro-irrigation can offer, its penetration is abysmally low, shows a recent study. Just 7.73 million hectares in India, compared to a potential 69.5 million hectares, were covered under micro-irrigation by March 2015, shows...

-The Financial Express Dismantling cane economy will not be painless, shift crop to Drip Irrigation Opinion-makers, from agricultural economists and academics to environmentalists, have blamed sugarcane for aggravating the water shortage in Marathwada. But the view is contested. ‘I reject the hypothesis,’ says Venkat Mayande, during a conversation in Pune. Mayande was vice-chancellor of Akola’s Panjabrao Deshmukh Agricultural University till 2012. How can 2.1 lakh hectare (ha) of cane cause a shortage of...

-DNA To add value to the ailing farming sector in Maharashtra, which is reeling under successive droughts, agrarian distress and a negative growth rate, the state government is working on an agro-industrial policy. "We are working on an agro-industrial policy. It will look at granting incentives to agro-industries like food processing units, which will help create value chains for farmers and set up facilities like cold storages. The policy will also grant...

-PTI Prime Minister Narendra Modi today directed setting up of a task force to study the economic impact of Drip Irrigation in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra on parameters like water saving and productivity. Reviewing the drought situation in Andhra Pradesh with its Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu here, Modi also asked the NITI Aayog to set up a task force that could come up with a model on how to use...