Page 49 - Farmers

Agri ministry allowed to use drones for remote sensing data collection

The agriculture ministry has been permitted to use drones for remote sensing data collection under Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY). "The Ministry of Civil Aviation and Directorate General of Civil Aviation have granted conditional exemption for Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS) usage to Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare (MoAFW)," an official statement said on Friday. This will allow MoAFW to use drones for remote sensing data collection in agricultural areas of 100 districts of the country for gram panchayat level yield estimation, under PMFBY. The conditional exemption will be valid for one year from the date of issue of the permission letter or until the operationalisation of the Digital Sky Platform, whichever is earlier, the statement by the civil aviation ministry said. This exemption shall be valid only if all conditions and limitations are strictly adhered to, it said. While conditional exemption has been given to MoAFW, it still needs to obtain ...

E-payment of MSP will not affect 'arthiyas' of Punjab, Haryana: Govt

In Punjab and Haryana, the Centre and state agencies procure their quota of foodgrain largely through a network of mandis and middlemen

Best of BS Opinion: Sedition vs dissent, make tribunals first court & more

Here's a selection of Business Standard opinion pieces for the day

Odisha CM transfers Rs 1,272 cr to bank accounts of 5.3 mn farmers

The KALIA scheme, launched in 2019 to support small, marginal and landless farmers, has earned accolades from various quarters across the nation, the CM said

NABARD lays emphasis on farmer producer organisation: official

NABARD believes the strategy of achieving higher growth in agriculture needs to be based on forming new farmer producer organisations (FPOs) and nurturing the existing ones

SC notice to Centre on plea seeking implementation of new farm laws

The Supreme Court Tuesday sought response from the Centre on a plea by a firm seeking implementation of the controversial new farm laws and its inclusion

IIT Kharagpur researchers develop solar-powered pest control system

A team of researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur has developed an energy-efficient pest controlling device for smaller agricultural tracts

End agitation and let's move forward, PM Narendra Modi tells farmers

Unions stick to demands on MSP, repeal of farm laws

Give chance to agriculture reforms, MSP to stay: PM Modi to farmers

Narendra Modi said that the MSP will continue and so will the monthly ration scheme to 800 million people

Short shrift for agriculture

The sector did not get anticipated attention in Budget

Protesting farmer unions ready for talks only if farm laws are repealed

Protesting farmer unions asked govt to come up with a fresh proposal as the existing offer to put the three farm laws on hold for 12-18 months is not acceptable to them

Shekhar Gupta: A lost battle

Modi govt has already lost the battle on farm laws. It will err even more gravely if it persists with the Sikh separatism bogey

Explained: How govt-Twitter fracas put IT laws, content policies in focus

Business Standard explains who can request the takedown of posts on Twitter, how they can do so, and what process the microblogging site follows before deciding to accede to the request or not

Losing the farm plot

Extreme responses weaken the govt's case

Budget has vision of 'self-reliance'; Villages, farmers at its heart: Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday hailed the Union Budget, saying it has the vision of 'Aatmanirbharta' (self reliance)

Farm stir at the crossroads as west Uttar Pradesh is the new battleground

In Ghazipur, where BKU leader Rakesh Tikait has been staging the protests, the farmers have dug in following reports that he might be arrested for his alleged role in inciting the protesters on Jan 26

'Locals' clash with protesters at Singhu border; Cong-BJP in war of words

The day saw police firing tear gas and resorting to baton charge to break up a clash between farmers and a large group of men claiming to be local residents who hurled stones at each other

New farm laws will have multiple benefits for farmers: CEA Subramanian

Amid the ongoing controversy over the three new farm laws, Chief Economic Adviser K V Subramanian on Friday said legislations will have multiple benefits for the farmers. Farmers, mainly from Punjab, Haryana and UP, are protesting against the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020, the Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020. "We are economists and talk about economics. And economics says that it (the farm laws) has many benefits," Subramanian said during a press conference. Enacted in September, the three farm laws have been projected by the central government as major reforms in the agriculture sector that will remove the middlemen and allow farmers to sell anywhere in the country. However, the protesting farmers have expressed apprehension that the new laws would pave the way for eliminating the safety cushion of Minimum Support Price and

Why can't states opposed to farm laws be allowed to accept them later?

If eight states could join the VAT system after the rollout date, why can't the same apply to states opposed to farm laws?

Ghaziabad administration asks protesting farmers to vacate UP Gate

However, Tikait, the BKU's national spokesperson, condemned the Uttar Pradesh government and police for the move