-The New Indian Express PALAKKAD: To strengthen the capacity of women and increasing their livelihood opportunities, tribal women in Attappadi are encouraged to undertake cultivation of traditional crops   through the Neighbourhood Groups (NHG) of the Kudumbashree. A total of 506 exclusive tribal women NHGs have been constituted in Attappadi and seeds will be distributed to them before the monsoon sets in. This is being done under the Mahila Kisan Shashakthikarna Pariyojana (MKSP)...

-The Hindu Business Line Overuse of groundwater, fertiliser and energy threatens the future of agriculture. A coherent policy response is called for India's agricultural sector is far more important to the country than its falling share in the GDP suggests. About two-thirds of India's population depends on agriculture for livelihood. Bucking global trends, the agricultural population in India rose by 50 per cent between 1980 and 2011. And in spite of sustained...

-Frontline If Budget 2015 is any indication, the Modi government is going beyond what could be called benign neglect of agriculture to policy moves that are likely to harm its viability. IT is scarcely surprising that farmers are upset with the Narendra Modi government. Indeed, the rosy dreams created by that famous campaign advertisement of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), when farmers spoke of the high crop prices and better cultivation conditions...

-Livemint.com Convergence aimed to synergize efforts to improve livelihoods through horticulture, plantation and farm forestry and collectively address climate change concerns New Delhi: Aiming to increase India's forest cover, address climate change concerns and achieve a faster growth rate in the rural economy, the government has decided to merge the Green India Mission (GIM) with the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS). Since taking over in May 2014, Prime Minister...

-The Economic Times NEW DELHI: The Centre has decided to extend its flagship rural jobs scheme to include afforestation as part of a move to create more durable assets through the programme that Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently derided as a living monument to the previous UPA government's failures and promised to overhaul. Officials said the National Mission for a Green India (GIM) and the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act...