-The Hindu Business Line In the wake of the government announcing direct income support of ?6,000 per year for small and marginal farmers in the interim Budget on February 1, the Reserve Bank of India, on Thursday, raised the limit for collateral-free agriculture loans to Rs.1.6 lakh from Rs.1 lakh. The central bank said the increased limit will enhance coverage of small and marginal farmers in the formal credit system. The circular...

-The Hindu Business Line Helps combat malnutrition and climate change The global food system faces major challenges and trends related to rapid urbanisation, changing diets, climate change, political uncertainties, and anti-globalisation sentiments. At the same time, there has been growing recognition that, in addition to addressing multiple burdens of malnutrition, there is an increasing need to seek an environmentally sustainable food system in light of climate change. The new EAT-Lancet report on healthy...

-TimesNowNews.com (Mirror Now) Despite paying premiums of Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bhima Yojana, farmers in Madhya Pradesh are facing a crisis as the payout under the crop insurance scheme are rare and farmers fail to their cover losses. Bhopal: Despite paying premiums of the crop insurance scheme, farmers in Madhya Pradesh are facing a crisis. The government had launched the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bhima Yojana in 2016 precisely to address crops ravaged by...

-The Hindu Business Line Sociologist Dipankar Gupta discusses the dynamics of political mobilisation and the politics of reservation. Excerpts from an interview to Poornima Joshi: * The Indian state’s failure to provide the basics — universal education and healthcare — has never become the rallying point for political mobilisation. Why is that? The more cleavages of class, caste, language, race a society has, the more difficult it is to practise democracy. Democracy works...

-The Indian Express The NSSF collects funds through small savings schemes, such as Post Office Savings Account, National Savings Time Deposits, National Savings Recurring Deposits, National Savings Monthly Income Scheme. It is a costlier form of borrowing for the government as compared to market loans. New Delhi: AN INCREASED reliance on the National Small Savings Fund (NSSF) and issue of recapitalisation bonds has helped the government to improve its fiscal affairs...