Page 5 - Agriculture Economy

India a developed nation only when farming becomes profitable, prestigious

Four focus areas that will be pivotal in achieving our goal of becoming a developed nation

NITI Aayog's Chand outlines 5 priority areas to lower carbon footprint

Ramesh Chand outlines a five-point agenda to cut agriculture's carbon footprint, urging policy reform in pricing, input efficiency and climate-suitable cropping

Cabinet hikes paddy MSP by 3%, pulses and oilseeds see bigger increase

With record rice stockpiles, the Cabinet has limited the paddy MSP hike to 3 per cent, while offering higher increases for tur, ragi, oilseeds, and cotton

Agri output likely to propel India's Q4 GDP growth to 4-quarter high

Industrial sector expansion is, however, expected to remain subdued

Maharashtra onion farmers reel under slump, unseasonal rains worsen woes

Pre-monsoon rains in several parts of Maharashtra since the beginning of May have increased the worries of the state's onion cultivators, who are already stressed about falling prices of the kitchen staple. Onion crops on thousands of acres have been damaged in the rains, leaving farmers staring at heavy losses, Maharashtra State Onion Producers Farmers Association founder-president Bharat Dighold told PTI. The damage in real terms is yet to be ascertained as the rains continue and panchnamas (spot assessment) haven't been done, he lamented. Onion-producing areas in Konkan, Nashik, Pune, Kolhapur, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Latur, Amravati and Nagpur have been witnessing heavy unseasonal rains since May 6. "Unseasonal rains have lashed onion-growing districts of Dhule, Nashik, Ahilyanagar, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Pune, Solapur, Beed, Dharashiv, Akola, Jalna, Buldhana, and Jalgaon. Prices were already down and have further slumped due to unseasonal rains," he said. He said in th

Centre to expand area under DSR rice to 40% by 2030, solution in the weeds

Weed management remains the biggest challenge in the adoption of the direct seeded rice method; to counter this, popularisation of herbicide-resistant rice is critical, say experts

India needs 5% agri growth yearly to become developed by 2047: Chouhan

Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Tuesday said India requires a five per cent annual growth rate in agriculture and allied sectors to become a developed nation by 2047. Chouhan highlighted that foodgrain is grown on 93 per cent of farmland, but the growth is just 1.5 per cent. "We are working towards bridging the yield gap in crops and achieving a national average yield... If we have to make India a developed nation by 2047, agriculture and allied sectors have to grow at 5 per cent annually," he said. He was speaking at a press conference on the sidelines of the annual conference of Vice Chancellors of Agricultural Universities and Directors of ICAR Institutes. The minister expressed confidence that the five per cent annual growth rate is achievable, emphasising that various agricultural institutes play a key role in this endeavour. "Research plays a very important role in increasing agricultural production and reducing costs. Our target is to maintain an annual ...

India's farm sector growth to hit 3.5% in FY26: Shivraj Singh Chouhan

Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Monday said the country is likely to achieve 3.5 per cent farm sector growth rate during 2025-26, as he announced a pan-India 15-day campaign to educate farmers about new technologies before the ensuing kharif sowing. "Globally, agriculture growth of 1.5-2 per cent is considered to be good. India is achieving at least 3 to 3.5 per cent growth rate. We expect to achieve 3-3.5 per cent growth even in the next year (2025-26)," Chouhan said. According to the Economic Survey 2024-25, agriculture sector growth for the 2024-25 fiscal year is pegged at 3.8 per cent. The India Meteorological Department has predicted above-normal monsoon conditions this year, with the monsoon expected to reach Kerala by May 27, about five days ahead of the usual June 1 onset. Southwest monsoon contributes approximately 75 per cent of the country's annual rainfall, crucial for kharif crop cultivation. Sharing details about the 15-day kharif extension campaign ...

Agri, pharma, electronics, engineering made up 50% of FY25 exports: Govt

Agriculture, pharma, electronics, and engineering goods together accounted for over 50 per cent of India's merchandise exports in 2024-25, according to government data, highlighting the country's growing strength in diverse sectors amid efforts to boost manufacturing and value-added exports. Engineering goods contributed the highest share of 26.67 per cent to India's USD 437.42 billion exports in 2024-25, while agriculture, pharmaceuticals, and electronics accounted for 11.85 per cent, 6.96 per cent, and 8.82 per cent, respectively. The data showed that the electronic goods sector saw the highest export growth rate at 32.46 per cent, jumping from USD 29.12 billion in 2023-24 to USD 38.58 billion in the last fiscal year. It was USD 23.6 billion in 2022-23 and USD 15.7 billion in 2021-22. Within this, computer hardware and peripherals, which form 3.8 per cent of the sector, saw 101 per cent growth, doubling from USD 0.7 billion to USD 1.4 billion. The main destinations for electronic

As Punjab and Haryana fret over water, two new orders are causing heartburn

Unchecked paddy cultivation over the years has pushed groundwater levels to unsustainable levels, but a recent decision to stagger sowing might meet with limited success

5 days early, monsoon likely to arrive by May 27 over Kerala coast: IMD

An early onset of the southwest monsoon may boost kharif sowing and farm output, with IMD forecasting rainfall to be above normal at 105 per cent of the LPA this year

Shedding old habits: Rethinking agricultural practices in India

The government needs to actively push greater cultivation of millets, while encouraging farmers to move away from water-guzzling wheat and rice

India's millet moment: A holistic shift from paddy to sustainability

As of now, paddy has the largest area under cultivation in India, and agricultural input subsidies are skewed towards paddy production

Credit growth to agriculture slows to 10.4% in March 2025: RBI data

The bank credit growth to the agriculture sector slowed to 10.4 per cent year-on-year for the fortnight ended March 21, while advances to the industry remained flat at 8 per cent, as per the RBI data released on Wednesday. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has released the data on sectoral deployment of bank credit collected from 41 select commercial banks, accounting for about 95 per cent of the total non-food credit deployed by all banks taken together. Credit to agriculture and allied activities registered a growth of 10.4 per cent (y-o-y) as of the fortnight ended March 21, 2025, against 20 per cent in the corresponding fortnight of the previous year. "Credit to industry expanded by 8.0 per cent (y-o-y) as on the fortnight ended March 21, 2025, same as in the corresponding fortnight of the previous year," the RBI said. Among major industries, outstanding credit to 'petroleum, coal products and nuclear fuels', 'basic metal and metal products', 'all engineering' and 'construction'

India's farm exports might face challenges in FY26, but all is not lost

India's farm exports could surge past $40 billion in FY25, driven by rice and seafood, but fresh geopolitical tensions and US tariff risks could cloud the outlook for FY26

GreenGrahi raises ₹32 cr in a seed funding round led by Avaana Capital

The company also plans to expand its team and enter global markets, including the United States, United Kingdom, and the European Union

Rallis India Q4 results: Clocks ₹2,663 cr sales; loss widens to ₹32 cr

Agricultural inputs company Rallis India, a subsidiary of Tata Chemicals, on Wednesday reported a loss of Rs 32 crore during the quarter ending March 31. The company's loss stood at Rs 21 crore during the corresponding quarter of the previous financial year, Rallis India said in a regulatory filing. The company's revenue from operations during the quarter under review was almost flat at Rs 430 crore compared to Rs 436 crore in the same quarter of the previous year. For 2024-25, Rallis India's profit after tax (PAT) stood at Rs 125 crore, while its revenue from operations was Rs 2,663 crore. "The company has reported FY25 revenue of Rs 2,663 crore and PAT of Rs 125 crore. For Q4 FY25, revenue is Rs 430 crore with positive volume growth in domestic business. Control over working capital has enabled strong cash flow from operations. "I am particularly pleased with the growth of 23 per cent and 24 per cent in soil and plant health and herbicides categories, respectively. Our Innovatio

If agri growth rate rises, rural youth won't migrate to cities: Gadkari

Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday emphasised the need to increase agriculture growth rate and purchasing power in rural India to prevent migration of rural youth to cities. Addressing an event here, Gadkari said currently the government's minimum support prices for agriculture crops are way higher then commercial market prices. "If agriculture growth rate increases then rural youth will not be forced migrate to metro cities like Delhi and Mumbai for livelihood," he said. According to him, the growth rate in agriculture will lead to increase in purchasing power of rural population. Gadkari also emphasised the need for more intensive use of bamboo resources in the country, saying bamboo can create employment opportunities and contribute to rural development. He pointed out that the use of bamboo in the energy sector will help India in reducing import of fossils fuels. Gadkari said bamboo has the potential to be used as an alternative to coal and ca

Resetting the base year for CPI-AL/RL likely to impact minimum wages

After almost four decades, the government is planning to revise the base year for CPI for agri and rural workers, with more weightage likely to be given to items such as health and education

A below-par monsoon could imperil Bihar's agri sector, Assembly elections

If rainfall is below average this year, too, it would mark it as the fourth consecutive year that the agriculturally important state would get lesser rains from the Southwest monsoon