-The Hindu Fifty years since the Green Revolution, the architect of the reform highlights the crisis facing Indian agriculture today It is 11 years since agronomist M.S. Swaminathan handed over his recommendations for improving the state of agriculture in India to the former United Progressive Alliance government, at the height of the Vidarbha farmer suicides crisis, but they are still to be implemented. To address the agrarian crisis and farmers’ unrest across...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: Several military veterans have told the Prime Minister and chief ministers in an open letter that "dissent is not treason; in fact, it is the essence of democracy". "We can no longer look away. We would be doing a disservice to our country if we do not stand up and speak for the liberal and secular values that our Constitution espouses. Our diversity is our greatest strength," says...

-Centre for Science and Environment New Delhi: Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) released here today the first detailed independent evaluation and analysis of the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) – government’s flagship national agricultural insurance programme. Across the world, agriculture insurance is recognised as an important part of the safety net for farmers to deal with the impacts of extreme and unseasonal weather due to climate change. Releasing the report...

-The Hindu Business Line Agri-tech firms or farmer producer companies enjoy no benefits under GST. This will hit entrepreneurial spirit in the sector In 1991, India saw an LPG blast — liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation that changed the face of the country permanently. After 25 years from 1991, a fortnight ago, we experienced another revolutionary reform — GST with the promise of “One country-One tax”. Like any other person, I started reading...

-Hindustan Times India needs a paradigm shift in agriculture for economic and ecological sustainability Whenever flashpoints are reached, such as the current farmers’ agitation, there is a clamour for immediate palliatives. This is understandable, as those in acute distress need relief. But what we must not overlook are the profound possibilities of reform that such crises open up. Take Madhya Pradesh (MP), the epicentre of the agitation, which best exemplifies the required...