-PTI WPI inflation at 2.48% in February is the lowest in seven months. The previous low was recorded in July at 1.88% Inflation based on wholesale PRIces eased to a seven-month low of 2.48% in February on cheaper food articles, including vegetables. On the basis of the Wholesale PRIce Index (WPI), inflation was at 2.84% in January, and 5.51% in February 2017. WPI inflation at 2.48% in February is the lowest in seven months....

-PTI The farmers, who came from different districts of the state under the banner of Navnirman Krushak Sangathan (NKS), demanded that they be paid pension on attaining 60 years of age Bhubaneswar: After Mumbai, it was the turn of the Odisha assembly to face protests by farmers as thousands of them launched a dharna in front of it on Monday. The farmers are demanding a hike in the minimum support PRIce (MSP) of...

-Hindustan Times Both, the farmers who undertook the march and those who went on strike, represent the wide spectrum of the state’s ongoing agrarian and rural distress. Last year, on June 1, thousands of farmers in Maharashtra went on an unprecedented strike, refusing to sell their produce to markets and cutting off supply of daily necessities – milk, vegetables and fruits – to cities. The two-day strike forced the Devendra Fadnavis-led...

-The Indian Express It is morally obtuse and analytically misleading to see farmers’ long march as a demand for handouts The “long march of the farmers” in Maharashtra refocused attention on the crisis in certain regions in Indian agriculture. It should be the headline news that jolts the nation out of a complacent stupor. The protest made a series of long-standing but familiar demands: Loan waivers, increase in MSP, implementation of Forest...

-The Indian Express M S Swaminathan, author of the recommendations of the National Commission on Farmers (NCF) which is better known as his panel, does not see farm loan waiver as a solution to challenges being faced by farmers. From Mandsaur to Mumbai, farmer agitations have repeatedly invoked recommendations of the Swaminathan Commission to press their demands, including waiver of loans. Political leadership across states — Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Punjab...