-Livemint.com The most glaring implication of the proposed deficiency payments is that it makes the state give up its responsibility of intervening in markets During the past few months, there has been a highly contested debate on the merits, viability and feasibility of crop insurance in India given the large number of small farmers and the large amount of subsidy involved that is not being effectively used as the coverage of...

-The Times of India After a bruising battle between the rich countries and blocs of not-so-rich ones, the Nairobi World Trade Organisation (WTO) meeting of 160 nations failed to reach an agreement on an issue that directly affects 250 million farmers and farm workers in India. One of the bitterest fights, continuing from previous rounds, saw India lead a group of nearly 50 developing countries to stave off attempts by richer...

-Hindustan Times Malkeet Kaur, 55, travels 60 km each day to Kalianwali in the heart of Haryana’s cotton belt to undergo radiation therapy at the Advanced Cancer Diagnostic, Treatment and Research Centre in Bathinda. A resident of Kaali Mali village in the Sirsa district, the mother of four was diagnosed with breast cancer in her right breast in April this year. She now goes for radiotherapy five days a week to remove...

-The Asian Age It’s a huge story. And it’s not getting the kind of media attention it deserves. It’s a story about India’s farmers. It’s a story about the ongoing agrarian crisis in the country in the wake of two successive years of drought. If one looks only at the figures of growth of gross domestic product which tend to make headlines in financial publications, there’s no story for agriculture comprises...

-The Hindu Business Line Yes, but it may not wholly make up for the drought-stricken kharif season Agriculture commodity supplies are erratic in India. They are more so now, due to a second consecutive year of below-normal monsoon, which has resulted in big setbacks to the kharif crop. Edelweiss Agri Research recently took up a nation-wide crop survey to estimate the sowing intentions for the upcoming rabi season. This, along with the...