-The Telegraph New Delhi: A central scheme for skill training and jobs for rural youths has been witnessing below-target placement levels for the past five years, with the government's failure to answer key questions suggesting it is not monitoring the programme closely. Most of the training under the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana is provided by NGOs - who are paid for it - and a few state government institutes. Their...

-The Times of India CHANDIGARH: Agri marketing in Punjab is unimaginable without commission agents (arhtiyas). But a section of farmers in the state are beginning to respond to farmer producer organizations' (FPOs) attempt at marketing as an alternative to the traditional direct selling. The move is also expected to help farmers break the wheat-paddy cycle and take to growing vegetables. A study sponsored by National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD)...

-Livemint.com United States refuses to budge on relaxations demanded by developing countries to provide for food security programmes, matter in deadlock as India, China stick to their stance The 11th ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Buenos Aires hung in the balance on Tuesday after the US refused to budge on relaxations demanded by developing countries to provide for their food security programmes. The matter went into deadlock after India...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: New Delhi: New crop insurance scheme, launched in Kharif (summer-sown) season of 2016, has increased its footprints across the country with more area being covered in 2016-17 as compared to 2015-16 and 2014-15, but it has miles to go before it can actually bring relief to farmers due to current delay in claim disbursement. The claim settlement is not as fast as it was expected during...

-The Telegraph Bhubaneswar: The Naveen Patnaik government has plans to spice up the midday meal platter by serving fish that officials say will push up its nutritional quotient. The move, if implemented, will be in accordance with the recommendations of the Odisha State Food Commission that had submitted its report to the government last month. The commission's report had suggested measures required to strengthen the nutritional content of food served at schools and...