-The Pioneer Ludhiana: Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Friday said that the state is fully ready to adopt crop diversification but the Central Government must provide an assured mechanism to give remunerative prices for these crops. “The Centre must take this step for ensuring that the state’s farmers shift from water guzzling crops to less water consuming crops,” said the Chief Minister while addressing a gathering after inaugurating the Kisan Mela...

-Down to Earth Low returns and high risks from alternative crops among reasons past efforts failed, says report The Commission for Agricultural Cost and Prices (CACP) has recommended promotion of crop diversification, favouring oilseed crops amid the global inflation in oilseeds and vegetable oils prices. Global inflation creates a structural risk as vegetable oils account for about half of India’s agricultural import, subsequently raising the country’s agri-import bill, the commission wrote in its...

-The Telegraph The BJP’s nationalism would have been credible if it had a humane, inclusive face The prime minister has assured his legion of admirers that India’s stature is rising in the global order. The countrymen, however, can spot only one thing that is on an unprecedented rise: the price of essential commodities. On Tuesday, the price of diesel scored a century in Bengal, much like petrol that is already burning a...

-Down to Earth Farmers in the state are not getting urea; if they are, it is at almost double the price Urea prices are skyrocketing in Chhattisgarh due to the government’s decisions these days. So bad is the situation that farmers are being forced to buy urea on the black market and then cultivate paddy at a higher cost and bear the losses. Due to this, farmers from Raipur, Mahasamund, Bilaspur and...

One is almost certain to hear this from an economist that if something is available at free of cost or at a subsidised rate thanks to government intervention, then people tend to overuse or overconsume such goods/ commodities. So, the best solution is to create a market for such 'almost freely available' or 'highly subsidised' goods or commodities. Once people start paying to use or consume such goods/ commodities, they...