Topic: Agriculture sector
Punjab assembly passes bills negating Centre’s farm laws, now awaits President’s assent
The Punjab farm bills look to negate the Centre's laws and ensure minimum support price (MSP) for farmers. They also give powers to the state to impose stock limits.
‘Was told I’m speaking language of Pakistanis’ — Punjab BJP general secy quits over farm laws
Punjab BJP general secretary Malwinder Singh Kang resigned, saying he opposed the three farm laws but 'there is no space for any difference of opinion' in the party.
Why MNREGA wages are so low
Currently, the MNREGA wage rates of at least 17 of the 21 major states are even lower than the state minimum wage for agriculture.
Not all farmers are against Modi’s new farm laws, this group in Maharashtra is celebrating
Farmers associated with Shetkari Sanghatana, founded by economist Sharad Joshi in 1978, believe the laws are a step closer to their demand — freedom of access to markets.
Rajya Sabha passes 2 contentious farm bills amid massive uproar, Modi says ‘watershed moment’
There was ruckus in Rajya Sabha over the passage of the farmer bills as at least 13 opposition parties wanted Modi govt to refer the bills to a select committee for scrutiny.
Modi govt can bring real agriculture reforms only by working with states
There is a real risk that the Indian agricultural sector will be left in a state of greater regulatory ambiguity and economic uncertainty, and that farmers will suffer more.
Kharif crop expected to be hit as excessive monsoon rain floods fields, sparks pest attacks
The excess rainfall is likely to damage crops such as soybean, onion, urad and moong in major production states of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka.
2 indigenous varieties, 8 states, 3 yrs — all about Bt brinjal field trials allowed by govt
Bt brinjal field trials will start in Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Tamil Nadu, Odisha and West Bengal from this year and continue until 2023.
Locust swarms spare Delhi but threaten Rs 40,000-crore sugarcane economy in UP
The swarms have hit various districts of western UP and the Bundelkhand region in the last 48 hours, prompting alerts in several places like Agra, Kasganj, Azamgarh, Chitrakoot and Jhansi.
Farmers unhappy as govt decides to lower maize & milk import duty amid falling local prices
The government has allowed import of 5 lakh MT of maize and 10,000 MT of milk under reduced duties, cites commitment to WTO.
How PSU’s market cap fell by 36% in 6 years under Modi govt, while stock market doubled theirs
In episode 605 of #CutTheClutter, Shekhar Gupta parses numbers to highlight how public sector firms and banks lost Rs 6.9 lakh crore in value in 6 years.
Gold sales this festival season to be India’s worst since 2008
Covid and weak economic growth are likely to push sales below last year’s 194 tons to the lowest quarterly numbers since 2008, according to a consultant at Metals Focus Ltd.
Defence
Army develops WhatsApp-like app for personnel to dodge risk of communication leaks
The Secure Application for Internet supports secure voice, text and video-calling services for Android platforms over the internet. It is end-to-end encrypted.
Trump or Biden? Doesn’t matter to India-US ties as they’re in a full, strategic embrace
Pompeo & Esper’s visit to India for the 2+2 talks is proof that old hypocrisies are history, and supreme national interest has again driven a strategic choice.