Page 28 - Agriculture Economy

India considers raising palm oil import tax to help rapeseed farmers

The increase in the tax on palm oil could lift local prices, making the tropical oil a little less competitive than rival soyoil and sunflower oil

Biomass market in India expected to reach Rs 32,000 cr by FY31: Report

Biomass market in India is expected to reach Rs 32,000 crore by FY2030-31 piggybacking on government schemes as well as investments from global green energy companies, according to a report. The launch of new schemes in the support of biomass cogeneration projects is playing a crucial role in the capacity additions of small biogas plants located in remote and rural parts of India, the report by 1Lattice, a technology-enabled decision support organisation, said. The Indian biomass market is attracting investments from global green energy companies. There is a growing demand for the supply of clean and reliable power to businesses in India and biomass as a source of energy is expected to play a crucial role in meeting the power demand, the report explained. Abhishek Maiti, Director, 1Lattice in a statement said, "India currently has an installed capacity of 10.2 GW for biomass production and the biomass market in India is expected to reach Rs 32,000 crore by FY'31." Investments and

Congress adopts resolution on making MSP for crops a legal right of farmers

The Congress on Sunday resolved to make minimum support price for crops a legally enforceable right of farmers with any purchase of agricultural produce below it a punishable offence. The party also said no criminal proceedings will be initiated against farmers over debt and no land will be auctioned to recover outstanding loans. The party, in a resolution on farmers and agriculture adopted at its 85th plenary session here, also resolved to provide one-time immediate relief to farmers from indebtedness by bringing a debt waiver scheme to waive up to Rs 6 lakh each farmer. "The Indian National Congress resolves that MSP (minimum support price) should be a legally enforceable right of the farmers. Purchase of agricultural produce below MSP be made a punishable offense," the party said. "MSP should be calculated based on the C-2 cost plus 50 per cent profit as suggested by the Swaminathan Commission and subsequently recommended in the report of the Group of Chief Ministers headed by t

Mahanaaryaman Scindia expects MyMandi to turn profitable by Dec 2023

Gwalior's royal family scion Mahanaaryaman Scindia, whose name speaks volumes, has shed his legacy and ventured into building his own empire from scratch through startup MyMandi, which he expects to turn profitable in about one-and-a-half years of its business commencement. By combining his lineage of public service, lessons of creating social impact by grandfather late Madhavrao Scindia and wisdom acquired during work at global firms Boston Consulting Group and Softbank Group, 27-year-old Scindia and his firm's co-founder Suryansh Rana, 25, zeroed in on a common passion of working in agriculture sector, cut down on waste of fresh produce and logistic costs. Founded in 2022, MyMandi began operations from Gwalior where Scindia himself goes into local mandis, with a covered face to conceal his identity, for procuring fresh produce and sell the inventory to the firm's last mile delivery partners -- street vendors and cart pushers community. The formula of their venture has led to a ...

Wheat crop in good condition; govt's wheat procurement to be normal: FCI MD

Wheat crop is in good condition and the government's procurement would be normal at 300-400 lakh tonne in the 2023-24 marketing year starting March, FCI Chairman and Managing Director Ashok K Meena said on Thursday. "Area sown to wheat is higher than last year. The current condition of wheat crop is very good. Our procurement should be normal at 300-400 lakh tonne in 2023-24," Meena said in a press conference. The wheat procurement had declined last year due to a fall in domestic production and higher exports, he said. Asked whether there would be any impact on wheat crop due to rise in temperature, as forecast by the Met Department, Meena said it is unlikely to have any impact and the short duration crop will not be affected. The government has projected a record wheat production at 112.18 million tonne in the 2023-24 crop year (July-June) as per the second estimate of the agriculture ministry. Last year, wheat procurement for the central pool had declined to 187.92 lakh tonne fr

Cabinet approves plan to set up 2 lakh PACS, dairy, fishery cooperatives

Seeking to strengthen the cooperative movement in the country, the union Cabinet on Wednesday approved setting up of 2 lakh Primary Agriculture Credit Societies (PACS) and dairy-fishery cooperatives in uncovered villages and panchayats over the next five years. At present, there are around 63,000 functional PACS in the country. The Cabinet approved steps to strengthen the cooperative movement in the country and deepen its reach up to the grassroots. The plan is to establish PACS in each uncovered panchayat, viable dairy cooperatives in each uncovered panchayat/village and viable fishery cooperatives in each coastal panchayat/village as well as panchayat/village having large water bodies. The initial target is to establish 2 lakh multipurpose PACS/dairy/fishery cooperatives in the next five years, I&B Minister Anurag Thakur said at a Cabinet briefing. The plan will be implemented with the convergence of various schemes by leveraging the 'whole of government' approach. The proposal

Rs 20-trn agri credit outlay to boost tractor manufacturers, PSBs: Analysts

However, fertiliser stocks may not see another upsurge as they have have more-than-doubled in the last six months, they said

Union Budget 2023: What did FM Nirmala Sitharaman announce for agriculture?

Budget 2023: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the Centre will encourage one crore farmers to take up natural farming

Rozgar Mela will act as catalyst in employment generation, says Tomar

Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar on Friday said that the Rozgar Mela will act as a catalyst in employment generation and provide meaningful opportunities

Opportunities for India amid global headwinds, says PM Narendra Modi

PM Modi underscored 'Nari Shakti' as a key driver of India's growth

1,260 mandis onboarded on eNAM in 25 states and UTs so far, says Tomar

The Centre on Tuesday informed Parliament that it has achieved integration of 1,260 wholesale mandis, located in 22 states and three union territories, with the electronic-National Agriculture Market (e-NAM). Right now, farmers auction their agricultural produce at 6,900-odd APMC (Agriculture Produce Marketing Committees) mandis spread across the nation. Some of them are also using online bidding through e-NAM platform. In his written reply to the Lok Sabha, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said: "As on November 30, 2022, 1,260 mandis of 22 States and 3 UTs have been integrated with e-NAM platform." These states include Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Nagaland, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Chandigarh, Jammu & Kashmir, and Puducherry, he said. Further, based on the proposals/Detailed Project Reports .

Podcast: What's behind the rise in milk prices across the country?

Milk production may have increased, but the prices have risen sharply too. What's behind the rise in milk prices this year?

Agriculture, allied activities clock a buoyant 4.6% growth in 2nd quarter

Gross value added (GVA) for agriculture, forestry and fishing during the comparable period of last year was 3.2 per cent

Is DBT the solution for agri subsidy transfers? There is no direct answer

In India, farmers receive subsidised supply of inputs as agriculture subsidies and the difference between the actual cost of supplying and the price paid by the farmers is reimbursed to the suppliers

Rabi sowing tracker: Mustard covers 72% of normal area, wheat spikes

Mustard is usually sown in 6.4 million hectares, and sowing in almost 4.6 million hectares is complete till Friday

Scientists say GM mustard production can start from this rabi itself

An official clarification made later says approval has come from GEAC, which is authorised to do so, and not from MoEF

UP eyes bigger pie of millet exports, plans to expand jowar acreage

Some of the major millet crops grown in UP are jowar, bajra, kodo and sanwa

Pulses, onion won't see price hike this year; have adequate stock: Govt

The all-India average retail price of onion has witnessed a significant decline of 28 per cent compared to last year

Interest-free loans for 100K rural families of Rajasthan for non-agri work

The state government has set aside Rs 2,000 crore for the Rajasthan Rural Family Livelihood Loan Scheme.

States' MGNREGA under probe for potential financial misappropriation

Some states have been using more than permitted MGNREGA funds to build rural infrastructure instead of generating livelihood opportunities for rural needy, says Central government