Topic: Agriculture
Maharashtra to Tripura — Kisan Rail is helping Indian farmers deliver, even in a pandemic
Scalability is always a problem with Indian success stories. But that won’t be a problem with the Kisan Rail given the kilometres of tracks at its disposal.
Negotiable warehouse receipts — How the RBI is helping formalise India’s agricultural economy
Most of India’s agricultural produce is still stored in un-registered warehouses. Punjab has five registered warehouses and Assam just two.
Armed with AI & drones, online mandis shake up farming, aim to cut waste to boost farm income
E-mandis deploy tech such as AI and drones to inject efficiency all along the supply chain. Indian players in the field include INI Farms, Agribazaar, Monks Bouffe, and Crofarm.
SC has let itself and Indian democracy down by its pusillanimity on electoral bonds
ThePrint view on the most important issues, instantly.
Even stray dogs don’t go hungry in India, ignore hunger reports, minister says in Parliament
Union Minister of State for Agriculture Parshottam Rupala was responding to an AAP MP, who raised the issue of India’s poor ranking in the 2020 hunger index in Rajya Sabha.
Why the coup in Myanmar could make your idly, vada, dosa just a bit more expensive
Over the last month, retail urad prices have risen to Rs 130/kg from Rs 117/kg in Mumbai. The Delhi rate has gone up to Rs 123/kg from Rs 100/kg, while in Lucknow it is Rs 145/kg from Rs 113/kg.
Hitchhiker worms in fig trees use ‘perfume’ to find a ride on wasps, fly to safety
IISc researchers say the study, featured as cover story on February 2020 issue of Journal for Chemical Ecology, may aid efforts to conserve fig ecosystem & make it more productive.
Free transport for women, higher pensions, 25% more farm allocation — Punjab’s FY22 budget
Punjab Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal announces a please-all budget in the presence of CM Amarinder Singh. No new taxes.
India could see winter crop cultivation shrink by 20% as groundwater depletes, study finds
Study by Indian and US researchers says that alternate plans needs to be devised as a complete switch to canal irrigation will not compensate for groundwater loss.
Indian-American energy expert gets key position in US agriculture department
Bidisha Bhattacharyya has been appointed as Senior Policy Advisor in the Farm Service Agency. Previously, she has spent 3 years deploying solar energy solutions in rural India.
India’s Covid vaccine policy is bound to promote inefficiency, inequality
Modi govt’s policy for Covid-19 vaccine has thoroughly exposed both the failures of an incompetent state and the vagaries of the ‘free’ market.
Growth will be hit in April quarter but impact will be less than first wave: Finance ministry
Earlier this week, RBI had also put out an optimistic statement saying the impact on economic activity from the Covid second wave will be minimal.
Defence
Armed forces plan to hire 400 retired military doctors to assist in fight against Covid
The forces are looking to hire, on a contractual basis for about a year, medical officers who retired in the last four to five years.
Mayday, Mayday — How Modi govt led India into a perfect storm
Triumphalism, premature declaration of victory meant no one checked if India had enough vaccines, oxygen, remdesivir, bringing us back to a crisis where we need foreign aid after four decades.