-Deccan Herald The Green Revolution has changed life in Indian villages, but the main beneficiaries were the landlords. Daily labourers remain poor and marginalised. The limits of using ever more fertiliser and pesticides are becoming apparent. Many farmers are confused because extension services want them to reconsider practices they were told to abandon not that long ago. A member of the Santal tribe, an Adivasi community, assesses things from the village perspective. Since independence...

-Outlook India To the social subsidy whiners, please check corporate write-offs column The TV anchor asked eagerly of Arun Jaitley whether he would take hard decisions or, in the case of a bad drought, revert to loan waivers and (obviously wasteful) subsidies. The finance minister replied that it depended on the situation as it unfolded but he hoped he wouldn't have to return to such steps. "We hope so too," said...

-The New Indian Express BELGAUM: Laxman Maruti Muchandi, a young farmer from Yallur near Belgaum, has found a novel way to cultivate his 4.5-acre field without using oxen or a tractor. Muchandi has used a motorcycle to plough the field for sowing paddy. Muchandi said it was very difficult to get Farm Labourers. Some demanded Rs. 11,000 to plough his field, after which he decided to use his motorcycle. He used one-and-a-half litres...

-The Hindu Business Line   Using Census and other data, the Union Rural Development Ministry is defending itself against complaints that the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) has led to labour shortage, affecting agriculture. The data available with the Ministry say that during the peak agriculture season, just 2.57 per cent of the total agricultural labourers were involved in MGNREGS activities. The data says that between August and September of...

-The Times of India RAJKOT: A farmer Janak Patel in Abharampara village of Amreli district has seen his entire sowing on 40 bigha land going waste. He had anticipated rainfall within 30 days of sowing. However, monsoon did not keep its date with the state. "I had sown cotton in 40 bigha land 30 days ago thinking that rain would come on time. But all has gone waste," said Patel adding that...