After facing intense criticisms from various sections of the society following its policy of demonetisation during November-December, 2016, the NDA government has finally something solid to cheer about. Riding on the back of a normal monsoon, gross foodgrain production is likely to reach a record level of about 272.0 million tonnes in the crop year 2016-17. As per the second advance estimates of foodgrain production, which has been released by...

-Business Standard Foodgrain production is projected to be more than 270 million tonnes India’s horticulture production, at around 287.32 million tonnes, will continue to outstrip that of foodgrain by a good margin in 2016-17 also, even as vegetables might see just a marginal decline.   Foodgrain production is projected to be more than 270 million tonnes.   Under horticulture, fruit production in 2016-17 is expected to be 91.72 million tonnes, against 90.18 million tonnes last year.   Vegetables...

-Scroll.in Botched-up beneficiary lists have denied the needy the government rations to which they are legally entitled. Even though few in eastern Uttar Pradesh’s Baksha village have ever seen the internet, every man, woman and child there knows the word online. Online for them means standing in a queue outside a computer shop with a bundle of documents that the shopkeeper consults as he types away into the computer. At the end...

-Scroll.in India's social-sector spending remains woefully low and despite claims of being a pro-farmer Budget, the effective allocations are nearly the same as last year. Some commentators expected that the Union Budget 2017-’18 would craft a sharp departure from earlier budgets of this government. This it would do to mitigate the immense suffering of millions of casual workers, farmers and small traders caused by the “shock and awe” of the astoundingly callous...

-The Hindu Business Line Superfood moringa is proving to be a boon for subsistence farmers Names like PKM 2, Bhagya KDM 1, Rohit 1, Siddhi Vinayaka.... may not ring a bell among urban readers, but those engaged in subsistence farming will recognise these as the high-Yielding varieties of Moringa olifera (drumstick tree). This tree (called murungae in Tamil) has been around for ages, but ever since the world at large claimed moringa as...