Page 8 - Agriculture

Bank credit growth slows to 6.7% in first half of April, shows RBI data

Bank credit growth slowed to 6.7% in April, with faster growth in metals and textiles but slower in infrastructure and agriculture. RBI data highlights changes in services and personal loans credit

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

VP Dhankar urges farmers to explore agro products to increase income

Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Thursday asserted that the income of people has to increase eightfold to define Viksit Bharat and urged farmers to look beyond agriculture and explore agro-based products to increase their income. Talking to reporters after paying tributes to former prime minister Charan Singh on his death anniversary here, the vice president said Viksit Bharat, or a developed India, does not refer to the rank of the nation's economy in the world. He felt that to define Viksit Bharat and make it a ground reality, people's income has to increase eightfold. Expressing confidence that such a development will certainly happen, provided farmers are far-sighted, Dhankar said farmers make a lot of effort in cultivating and harvesting crops, but beyond that their role is negligible. He also called on farmers to increase their participation in the animal husbandry and agro-based industry. Dhankhar highlighted that the entire food processing industry is based on farm produ

Centre moves 41 officers in major joint secretary-level reshuffle

The Centre on Wednesday effected a major Joint Secretary-level bureaucratic reshuffle, reposting as many as 41 officers belonging to various services in different central government departments. Bhanu Prakash Yeturu, a 2003 batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of Rajasthan cadre, has been appointed as Deputy Election Commissioner, Election Commission of India, a Personnel Ministry order said. Senior IAS officers Anbalagan P and Sanjay Kumar Agarwal have been appointed as joint secretaries in the Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, it said. Their service-mates, Manisha Chandra and Meera Mohanty, have been named as joint secretaries in the Department of Defence Production. Senior civil servant Ishita Ganguli Tripathy has been appointed as Joint Secretary and Additional Financial Advisor, Ministry of Defence. More Ashish Madhaorao has been named as Joint Secretary, Department of Financial Services. Anshul Mishra, a 2004 batch IAS officer of Tamil Nadu cadre,

Horticulture deserves better amid export hurdles and safety norms

Horticultural crops are characteristically more productive and remunerative than food crops

Mission LiFE may be merged into national action plan on climate change

Currently, the NAPCC has eight active missions across sectors like water, energy, and agriculture, aimed at addressing climate change

Japan's agriculture minister resigns after inappropriate remark on rice

Japan's agriculture minister said Wednesday that he has submitted his resignation over his inappropriate remark on rice that angered the public. Taku Eto said Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba accepted the resignation. Eto came under fire earlier this week after saying that he never had to buy rice thanks to his supporters' gifts, triggering an uproar at a time when consumers are struggling with rice shortage and skyrocketing price.

Lessons from soybean: Time to broaden India's biotech push in crops

India needs to develop its biotechnology capacity for crops like soybean as it has done for rice

India's agri must grow 5% a year to become developed by 2047: Chouhan

He said that foodgrain is grown on 93 per cent of farmland, but growth in the crop is just 1.5 per cent

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

Shivraj Singh Chouhan to discuss IWT benefits with farmers at Pusa campus

The Agriculture Minister will meet farmers from North India to explain how putting the Indus Water Treaty in abeyance will secure water access and safeguard livelihoods

Over 4 million Beedi workers likely to get relief on pension math

Labour min to examine classifying beedi industry as 'seasonal' establishments

LTIMindtree bags record $450 million deal with global agribusiness firm

As part of the deal LTIMindtree will implement an AI-powered operating model to deliver application management infrastructure support and cybersecurity services

Policy to plate: What genome-edited rice means for India's food future

The release of genome-edited rice marks a policy and scientific shift, positioning India to lead biotech-driven farming amid climate, resource, and food security challenges

Centre to reach 15 mn farmers via seed campaign by June 12: Chouhan

The Centre will launch a national campaign from May 29 to June 12 to promote new seed varieties and farm technologies across 700 districts, reaching up to 15 million farmers

Increasing productivity: Genome-edited rice varieties to boost yields

Critically, gene-editing technologies like SDN1 do not introduce foreign deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), distinguishing them from traditional genetically modified (GM) organisms

Anti-GM groups slam ICAR over release of genome-edited rice varieties

The Coalition for a GM-Free India has criticised the release of two genome-edited rice varieties, calling the move unscientific, risky, and a threat to seed sovereignty

APEDA mulls strategies to boost agricultural, processed food exports

The commerce ministry's arm APEDA is mulling formulation of strategies to boost export of agricultural and processed food products from India, an official statement said on Sunday. The Agricultural and Processed Food Products Authority (APEDA) held an inter-ministerial dialogue to deliberate on the strategy last week here. Representatives from state governments, policy experts, industry leaders from agri trade and processed foods sector also participated in the discussions Speaking at the forum, Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal said that the government is committed to reducing logistical barriers and enhancing market access for Indian agri and processed food products. He added that academia and research institutions must be part of multi-sectoral consultations so that research and development can be a major focus for innovation and sustainability in agri exports. Agricultural production and productivity both are the need of the hour, the secretary has said, adding the ministry wi

Tendu patta collection target remains unchanged in Chattisgarh for 2025

Over 1.4 million collectors would be the beneficiaries even as the state government would pay ₹920 as remuneration if the target had been achieved

Centre hikes sugarcane FRP by Rs 15 per quintal for 2025-26 season

This is 4.2 per cent more than the FRP for the 2024-25 sugar season, which will conclude in September