-Newsclick.in There is need to build up self-reliance by nurturing the fertiliser CPSEs, rather than dismantling them through disinvestment and privatisation, read the PCPSPS statement. New Delhi: Amid concerns over global availability and growing demand for fertilisers, as well India’s dependence on urea import, the People's Commission on Public Sector and Public Services (PCPSPS) has called for a national fertiliser policy, consistent with the long-term food security strategy in India. “The national fertiliser...

There is some respite expected for India in terms of prices of imported commodities. This may ease the depletion of its foreign exchange reserves. The country has faced a widening of its merchandise trade deficit from US$ -17.91 billion to US$ -26.91 billion between October 2021 and October 2022. The commodity price data provided by the World Bank in December 2022 (termed as The Pink Sheet) shows that energy prices plummeted by...

-Moneycontrol.com The fertiliser subsidy stood at Rs 1.62 lakh crore in the previous financial year. The government's fertiliser subsidy will rise to Rs 2.3-2.5 lakh crore in this fiscal but the bill may fall by 25 per cent in the 2023-24 financial year with moderation in global prices, according to industry body FAI. Fertilisers Association of India (FAI) expressed concern that the fixed cost of urea has not been increased affecting the viability...

-The Telegraph Demand for sustainable or organic cotton on the rise, providing an opportunity for the country to excel A few years ago, images of the drying up of the eastern bed of the Aral Sea had shocked millions. It was linked to the widespread growing of unsustainable cotton, backed by the Uzbekistan government, to pocket greater forex earnings and satiate the demands of the global fashion industry. The demand for sustainable...

-NITI Aayog Working Paper, ISBN: 978-81-953811-7-3 Abstract -  The importance of agriculture in an economy usually declines as it climbs the development ladder. Raising agriculture productivity has been known to be an important precursor. Labour productivity in agriculture can either be increased by higher land productivity or higher land availability per farmer and mechanisation. In India, however, the dramatic increase in land productivity through industrial farming has caused severe environmental damage and...