Think India Foundation

Bengal plans to raise onion output

KOLKATA : Availability of locally produced onions in West Bengal is set to improve starting this year.

A vendor arranges onions at a wholesale vegetable market in Kolkata

The State Government is planning to supply seeds at subsidised rates to farmers to grow onions in the kharif season (June-end October). Read more

Source : www.thehindubusinessline.com

CM Siddaramaiah steps in to avert water crisis

BANGALORE: With an unprecedented water crisis staring Bangalore in the face, chief minister Siddaramaiah on Friday directed the irrigation and water resources department to ensure that adequate water is released to KRS so that the city gets its due drinking water supply. 

The directive came after the CM went into a huddle with BWSSB chief Gaurav Gupta and other top officials. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Buy land directly to invest in Bihar, says official

Kolkata : 

Entrepreneurs wanting to invest in Bihar should acquire land directly from farmers as land acquisition by the government would cost more, a top government official said Friday.

"If you purchase land directly from the farmers, you will get it at a much cheaper rate than we can provide it to you," said Naveen Verma, director of Food Processing Industries, Bihar. Read more

Source : www.business-standard.com

For no wealth tax, Centre takes farmland out of 'urban' definition

Chandigarh : Acting on a promise made after much hue and cry by political parties in Punjab and Haryana, the central government has amended the Wealth Tax Act to ensure that agricultural land remains out of its ambit.

Section 2 (ea) of the Act which dealt with the definition of urban land has been amended to bring in a disclaimer that says urban land "does not include land classified as agricultural land in the records of the government and used for agricultural purposes or land on which construction of a building is not permitted under any law for the time being in force."  Also, the Finance Act 2013 says this amendment shall be in effect from April 1, 1993. Read more

Source : www.hindustantimes.com

Solar-powered irrigation pumpset has its limitations, say farmers

TIRUCHI : Chief Minister’s announcement on 8,000 solar IP sets draws praise

Although Chief Minister Jayalalithaa’s announcement on extending 80 per cent subsidy for 2,000 solar-powered pumpsets has elicited hearty approbation from a number of farmers, they have a lurking fear on its efficacy as well.

Mahadhanapuram V. Rajaram, working president of the Cauvery Delta Farmers’ Welfare Association, is sceptical whether such pumpsets would be able to draw water beyond a depth of 50-60 ft (20 metres at the most). Besides, the quantum of water required for irrigation may not be pumped. Read more

Source : www.thehindu.com

Drought dominates grievance day meet

KARUR : ‘Seek release of 10,000 cusecs of Cauvery water’

District Collector S. Jayandhi chairing the farmers grievances' meeting in Karur on Thursday.

Scarcity of drinking water in Karur district found echo in the farmers grievances day meet held here on Thursday with the participants urging Chief Minister Jayalalithaa to seek release of at least 10,000 cusecs of the Cauvery water from Karnataka. Read more

Source : www.thehindu.com

Sharecroppers stall road project over compensation

PANAGARH: Demanding compensation from the West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation (WBIDC) that acquired land for the Panagarh Industrial Park long back, some 200-300 sharecroppers who once tilled the 1,458-acre land forced workers of a contractor -building an internal road there - to stop work.

As workers of BLA Projects Pvt Ltd - that bagged the Rs 65 crore project for the 10-km road to connect the park with NH-2 - got down to work on the stretch in Kota on Thursday, some 300 sharecroppers, claiming that they hadn't been compensated, prevented construction work. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

TN to subsidise solar powered irrigation pump sets

CHENNAI : The Tamil Nadu Government will distribute 2,000 solar powered agriculture pump sets at subsidised rates to farmers in the current year, announced the Chief Minister, J. Jayalalithaa in the Assembly today.

The Agriculture Department will distribute the 2,000 pump sets of 5 hp fitted with solar tracking device during 2013-14. Read more

Source : www.thehindubusinessline.com

Lack of markets for vegetable upsets Sikkimese farmers

GANGTOK : The president of Farmer Producer Organization (FPO), Sajong, near Rumtek, Karma Dichen Bhutia today expressed grievances over the lack of markets for surplus vegetable stocks.

“The Central government has helped farmers to increase the growth of vegetables, through the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana Scheme. This scheme includes sub-schemes, among which figure the Vegetable Initiative for Urban Clusters (VIUC), dedicated to places nearing town areas. Read more

Source : isikkim.com

Authority to regulate and control water uses coming

NEW DELHI : National Bureau of Water Use Efficiency will focus on irrigation, drinking water supply

The Centre will establish a National Bureau of Water Use Efficiency as an “authority” for “promotion, regulation and control of efficient use of water in irrigation, municipal and industrial uses.” Read more

Source : www.thehindu.com

Siddaramaiah's first task is a thorough cleansing of administration

BANGALORE : My post is not a bed of roses, says the Chief Minister-designate

Ever since it was announced that Siddaramaiah would be Chief Minister, there has been a steady stream of supporters and well-wishers at his house in Bangalore. Photo: K. Gopinathan

Chief Minister-designate Siddaramaiah, who will be sworn in on Monday at the Kanteerava Stadium, says his first task would be a “thorough cleansing” of the administration by taking the bureaucracy into confidence and speedy implementation of development programmes. Read more

Source : www.thehindu.com

Now, Goa looks up to Gujarat to improve its irrigation network

MARGAO: Goa is looking up to big brother Gujarat for some solutions to improve its irrigation network system and developing its river fronts.

Goa minister for water resources department Dayanand Mandrekar, accompanied by Sanguem MLA Subhash Phal Dessai visited the Sabarmati river and observed the various infrastructural development works and surface water projects carried out by the government there. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Bihar Innovation Forum looks for innovations and rural solutions

KOCHI : Jeevika (Bihar Rural Livelihoods Promotion Society) is looking at innovations and rural solutions from across the country for the second Bihar Innovation Forum.

The Society has organised a road show in Kochi in this connection to interact with high impact social innovators from the city and surrounding regions. Read more

Source : www.thehindubusinessline.com

Incentivise relocation of water-guzzling plants

Water is back in the news. It's drought time in Maharashtra. Some legislators have even begun demanding water supply cuts for industry and residences.

In Delhi, there is a clamour for privatisation of water supply. Somehow, India’s policymakers appear to have forgotten that this was how an attempt was made to privatise power supply as well, giving rise to Enron’s entry into India with sovereign guarantees. Without a public utility omnibus law protecting citizen’s interests – as in the US – it’s dangerous to privatise any public utility. Read more

Source : www.dnaindia.com

India, US joint research gets fresh leg up

New Delhi : India and the US will announce eight new agreements between top research universities at a summit level meet in June in a bid to give fresh impetus to their education diplomacy under the $10 mn Singh Obama 21st Century Knowledge Initiative. 

Eight Indian universities will each tie up with an American university handpicked by top researchers in the latest phase of the initiative, named after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and US President Barack Obama. The universities will collaborate on research projects on climate change, demographic gains, public health, sustainable infrastructure development, renewable energy and agriculture education. Read more

Source : www.hindustantimes.com

Thousands take pledge at 'mahayagna' to save water

DEVLA VILLAGE (RAJKOT): Thousands of people from 4,800 villages across the water-starved Saurashtra took pledge at a 'mahayagna', organized by Saurashtra Jaldhara Trust, near Bhadar Dam at Devla village in Gondal taluka of Rajkot district on Sunday to work for water conservation. 

"The Saurashtra Narmada Jal Avataran Jan Jagruti Mahayagna will help create awareness about water conservation, drip irrigation and unused borewells and also pressurize the state government to bring Narmada water to Saurashtra and begin the Kalpasar project at the earliest," said Saurashtra Jaldhara Trust president Mathur Savani. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

India’s missing market for water

The problem that needs public attention is that of the general mismanagement of natural resources under public control

 The absence of a private market for entrepreneurs to engage in profitable commerce in providing water resources is partially responsible for their perennial scarcity Photo: Mint

The Union and state governments in India plan to collectively invest a substantive amount of about Rs.1.1 trillion ($20 billion) for sewage treatment, irrigation and recycling in the next five years, according to a recent interview that Bloomberg had with a special secretary in the ministry of water resources.

This comes against the backdrop of a severe crisis in the availability of clean water for agricultural as well as industrial purposes, stumping a number of investment projects worth billions of dollars. Notably, the scramble for clean water has often led to the brewing of intense conflict between industrialists and farmers in various parts of the country. Read more

Source : www.livemint.com

Legislators of Nagaland tour to check developmental works

Dimapur : A team of legislators comprising of Zhaleo Rio, Parliamentary Secretary Urban Development, Vikheho Swu, Parliamentary Secretary Irrigation and Flood Control, Nagaland and Tovihoto, Parliamentary Secretary, Information Technology accompanied by 5th Ghaspani – II NPF party leaders and Dimapur district administrators, NPF party leaders Dimapur and public leaders made a three-day official tour in the state from April 2 to April 4. This was stated in a press release issued by Vilasielie Nakhro, Press Secretary to the Parliamentary Secretary, Urban Development.  

Zhaleo Rio, during the tour said that his constituency has been neglected for so many years therefore to develop the area many irrigation projects and other connected developmental projects need to be taken up “urgently” so Medziphema (Ghaspani) people can live up to its name “Rice bowl of Nagaland”. He requested the department of Irrigation & Flood Control to take up more such developmental projects and give same priority to his area so “the people of his area can enjoy / avail the fruits of development as the rest of the people of the state.” Read more

Source : www.morungexpress.com

Fewer farmers call for urban reform

One lazy assumption, that most Indians live in villages and work their farms, has been demolished by census numbers released on Tuesday. These show that the number of "cultivators", people who own farms, fell by nearly nine million in the decade from 2001. It is also the first time, since 1971, when the absolute number of farmers has fallen. This tallies with a robust observation of economic history: as nations develop, people move from farm to factory. However, as people move away from farms and into cities in search of something else to do, most are diverted into informal jobs. This increasing informalisation of the workforce is dangerous for three reasons: it tends to perpetuate poverty, reduce productivity and yield lower revenues to governments. India's rigid labour laws, drawn up to protect the interests of its tiny formal-worker elite, need to be thoroughly revamped to let employers absorb more workers in formal occupations. 

But that will not be enough. In February this year, economists Ejaz Ghani and Ravi Kanbur published a paper which showed that across the developing world, more and more people were moving into informal jobs in cities. They also found that this informality was remarkably persistent. Of the more than dozen nations they surveyed, India had the highest level of informality; and it was as high in 2005 as it was in pre-reform 1989. Though their work suggests that informality could decline as people become better off — Chile and Turkey are richer than India and have more people working formal jobs — it is not enough to sit around and play catch-up. Read more

Source : economictimes.indiatimes.com

R 267-crore 'largesse' for private developers

Chandigarh : While farmers are a happy lot after getting Rs. 1.35 crore per acre during the land acquisition process for housing projects, panchayats have been deprived of their legitimate share from the common pathways between farm holdings. 

The money in question in two blocks of SAS Nagar district, Majri and Kharar, stands at Rs. 267 crore for 198 acres of net area of the pathways dividing the fields acquired by private colonisers. Read more

Source : www.hindustantimes.com 

Wealth tax on farmland: Not new, but not understood

Chandigarh : Much hue and cry has been raised by political parties, particularly the non-Congress ones, in Punjab and Haryana over the "imposition" of wealth tax on agricultural land by the Congress-led UPA central government. But the cacophony seems to be the outcome of a barely understood subject, or maybe just a political bogey.

The Finance Bill 2013 proposes a amendment within the Wealth Tax Act 1957 to tweak the definition of urban land. This amendment does not expressly bring farmland into tax purview; that was already done as per the older definition of urban land -- which was inserted in the Wealth Tax Act via the Finance Act of 1992. In fact, the central government had already notified 62 towns in Haryana and 44 in Punjab that constitute urban land. Read more

Source : www.hindustantimes.com

The Arriving Millions

Multitudes have to be connected to modernity for our great leap forward

A group of BPO recruits at a training session in Uttarakhand

It has become a cliche to speak of India as a land of paradoxes. The old joke about our country is that anything you say about India, the opposite is also true. We like to think of ourselves as an ancient civilisation but we are also a young republic; our IT experts stride confidently into the twenty-first century but much of our population seems to live in each of the other twenty centuries. Quite often, the opposites coexist quite cheerfully. One of my favourite images of India is from the last Kumbh Mela, of a naked sadhu, straight out of central casting, with matted hair, ash-smeared forehead and scraggly beard, a rudraksha mala around his scrawny neck and a distant gaze in his eyes, for all the world a picture of timeless other-worldliness, chatting away on a mobile phone.

Young Indians are growing into such a paradoxical India. What are the prospects for the expansion of the participative political space in tomorrow’s India, say over the next two decades? To me this desirable objective requires both growth and equity. It is happening, but there’s still a lot that needs to be done before we get there. Read more

Source : www.outlookindia.com

Maharashtra drought: NABARD to combine its projects with rural plan

PUNE: In an effort to aid drought relief measures in Maharashtra, National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) will converge its watershed development projects with Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MNREGS).

The proposed move -- to be implemented during fiscal 2013-14 -- will help fight the drought situation in the State, a NABARD regional office spokesman said, adding the manpower under MNREGS and funds for watershed development together could ensure faster completion of various projects. Read more

Source : economictimes.indiatimes.com

Saving the natural source: Water

LUCKNOW: Various civil society organization representatives working in water related issues have been coming together for preservation & enrichment of traditional water resource under threat of pollution, exploitation and encroachment.

To ensure success of Jal Jan Jodo Campaign delegates vowed to work whole heartedly for water crisis sensitization irrespective of caste, religion, region and Sex. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Future bleak for Gadra canal project

JAISALMER: The multi-purpose Gadra Road Canal project aimed at providing water for irrigation and drinking to lakhs of people in western Rajasthan, covering 500 villages, now appears to be a distant dream. For the past seven years, due to some or the other reason, construction of the canal has been halted.

The Gadra Road project is also very important from the defence point of view as the it is an extension of the Indra Gandhi Canal, which serves as a strategic defence line for the counrty. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Farmers deprived of technology

CUTTACK : Former DG of Indian Council of Agricultural Research Mangala Rai  expressed concern over the ever widening gap between technology generation and technology application in agriculture that has led to a situation where it takes years to make the benefits available to the farmers.

Though there has been significant advancement in research and development in terms of new varieties and technologies, extension to the farmers, who would actually implement them, is lacking. It now takes 10 years for the farmer to  access the more productive varieties of seeds or advanced technologies and utilise them. Read more

Source : newindianexpress.com

K'taka polls: Cong promises rice at Re 1 a kg, interest-free farm loan

The party is seeking to return to power after a gap of seven years

The Congress on Wednesday unveiled a series of promises to the citizens of Karnataka, including 1 kg rice at Re 1 with a maximum of 30 kg for below poverty line card holders, interest-free loans to farmers and free laptops to pre-university students, if it returns to power. Assembly elections are being held on May 5.

The party, which is seeking to return to power after a gap of seven years, has also promised to develop an 8-lane expressway between Bidar in the North to Chamarajanagar in the South to promote industrial development. Connectivity with major ports and airports, industrial townships, promotion of garments, textiles, engineering, automobile industries and creation of 5 million jobs are some of the other promises included in the party's pre-poll manifesto. Read more

Source : www.business-standard.com

Mundhwa facility to let treated water into canal

PUNE: The standing committee of the Pune municipal corporation (PMC) recently approved the lifting of 6.5 thousand million cubic feet (TMC) treated water from the river and letting it into the Mutha canal for irrigation. The project at Mundhwa will include a jack well, a pumping station and a recycling plant at a cost of Rs 31 crore.

Of the 750 MLD sewage generated in the city, about 527 MLD is treated. This water can be used for gardening, car washing and other non-drinking purposes or can be sent downstream for irrigation. However, in the absence of a centralized system, it is released into the river along with 25% of untreated sewage. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Tata Faces Crisis as $20 Billion Spent on Water: Corporate India

India, the world’s second-most populous nation, is doubling spending on water management to a record as conglomerates from the Tatas to Adani face shortages that the United Nations calls an impending crisis.

The federal and state governments have set aside 1.1 trillion rupees ($20 billion) for sewage treatment, irrigation and recycling for the five-year period ending March 2017, G. Mohan Kumar, special secretary in the Ministry of Water Resources, said in an interview. The nation with 1.2 billion people, which treats only 20 percent of its sewage, is pouring more money as inadequate clean water is threatening to stunt growth in industrial and farm output. Read more

Source : www.bloomberg.com

Green energy and beyond

Infrastructural challenges could derail India’s aggressive renewable energy efficiency policies, says a new report

Industrial emission: Pollution on the rise. Photo: K.K. Mustafah

India has aggressive renewable energy targets and industry energy efficiency policies, but faces significant infrastructure challenges which may derail the otherwise good policy, according to a new report by Climate Policy Initiative (CPI), a U.S.-based global policy effectiveness analysis and advisory organisation. Read more

Source : www.thehindu.com

Tax on 'urban land' a serious issue: Badal

JALANDHAR: A day after TOI reported about the income tax department levying wealth tax on agriculture land in and around the urban areas by treating this as "urban land", Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal said on Friday that the government was looking into the matter.

"We are consulting top income tax lawyers since this is a very serious issue. We will pursue the matter with the Union government and will push for amendments, if required," he said. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Despite better infrastructure , Rajasthan still among bottom states

JAIPUR: The government of India's report 'Infrastructure Statistics -2013' March, 2013 indicates that the state made some strides in providing tap water, increasing toilets, developing roads and communication network. However, it all proves to be insufficient for improving living standards of the people and needs a major push.

The report was compiled under six categories of transport, energy, communication, water and sanitation, irrigation and storage. Based on the recent data, it covers the figures from 2006-07 to 2010-11 depending on the availability of the data. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Plans to boost rubber cultivation in North East

GUWAHATI :  The Rubber Board of India has drawn up an ambitious project to increase area under rubber cultivation in North East by at least 50,000 hectares in the 12th Plan period, besides promoting use of high-yielding crop varieties in the region, an official said today.

The project report has been prepared and submitted to the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Chairman of the Board Sheela Thomas said. Read more

Source : www.thehindubusinessline.com

Government's indifference provokes Greater Noida's farmers

Greater Noida : The indifferent attitude of the state government towards their "genuine" demands has pushed Greater Noida's farmers to the edge. Although they have been staging protests and stopping construction of housing projects by private builders, they could not make much impact.

According to the protesters, they would strip down to underwear and shout slogans in front of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and a legion of foreign delegates when they visit Greater Noida's India Expo Mart for the Asian Development Bank (ADB) summit in first week of May. Read more

Source : www.hindustantimes.com

Unplanned urbanisation eating up Srinagar's farm land

Srinagar : Uptown Srinagar's Pirbagh locality, which houses who's who of Kashmir's bureaucracy and business houses, was a large swathe of paddy fields just 15 years ago. Now, one of the most plush colonies exposes the government's poor planning and is a living example of rampant land conversion in the fast-growing and unplanned city of Srinagar.

The Srinagar Master Plan, being implemented in 90s, had predicted a ribbon-shaped growth of Srinagar city. To the astonishment of the city planners, concrete structures and housing colonies cropped up in the most unplanned manner with downtown city acting as a nucleus and the city extending in all directions. Read more

Source : www.hindustantimes.com

PepsiCo takes IPL to villages

Invites farmers at IPL matches

In a unique campaign integrating its rural and urban presence, beverage maker PepsiCo India, title sponsors of the Indian Premier League (IPL), has invited about hundred farmers from West Bengal, Punjab, Maharashtra and Rajasthan to watch the live cricket matches of Pepsi IPL series in stadiums.

Presently, the company is working with over 24,000 farmers across nine states. The engagement has been on two fronts – collaborative farming of process grade potatoes and water conservation in agriculture through innovative techniques like direct seeding of rice (DSR) and drip irrigation. Read more

Source : www.business-standard.com

Bihar govt to hardsell land sale - Farmers’ nod vital for townships

Consent of landowners would play a pivotal role in the development of satellite townships for 55 cities in the state.

The Nitish Kumar-led government would go directly to the farmers and explain to them the benefits of giving away their lands for the projects. The decision is in contrast to its hands-off approach regarding acquisition of land for industry. Read more

Source : telegraphindia.com

Maharashtra’s water crisis: Lies, damned lies and statistics

People begin to think seriously about water only in an extreme situation such as drought and this is exactly what is happening in Maharashtra.

Water scarcity. Reuters

Questions have been raised on the excessive amounts of water drawn for sugarcane cultivation in the state as also on the amount of water being drawn by industries from the dams. Then there is the rising demand on water from rapidly growing urban conglomerates in parts of the state, leaving that much less for agriculture. Read more

Source : www.firstpost.com

PM to face ‘semi-nude’ farmers

Greater Noida : A group of farmers of Greater Noida —who have been agitating against the UP government over the land acquisition — has decided to strip down to their underwear in protest during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to Greater Noida’s India Expo Mart for the Asian Development Bank (ADB) summit starting on May 2. Delegates from other countries will also be present at the meet.

The protesters want to mount pressure on the state government to resolve the outstanding issues such as hiked compensation for the land acquired from them and regularization of abadi land. The authorities acquired hectares of land at ‘cheap rates’ and sold it to private builders. Read more

Source : www.hindustantimes.com

MMRDA no better than the irrigation department

Mumbai : Background check of 31 projects undertaken by the authority shows cost escalation in all barring monorail one.

It’s not just the irrigation projects in Maharashtra that have witnessed delay and increase in cost. The projects by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) hasn’t fared any better.

A white paper on MMRDA projects was demanded, but the one submitted and now with the urban development department is nothing more than the project status report. Read more

Source : www.dnaindia.com

KJP promises to continue popular projects

Bangalore : Claiming credit for the government projects implemented during his tenure as chief minister, Karnataka Janata Party president B S Yeddyurappa has promised to continue, if voted to power, all the popular projects such as free power for irrigation pumpsets, bicycles for students and the Bhagyalakshmi bond scheme among others.

Self-reliance in electricity, waiver of loans of up to Rs one lakh to farmers, weavers and fishermen, supply of drinking water to villages and completion of pending irrigation projects are some of the promises made by Yeddyurappa in his party manifesto released here on Saturday. Read more

Source : www.deccanherald.com

Irrigation water diverted for industries and domestic use in Maharashtra

MUMBAI : Water starved areas across Maharashtra were deprived of irrigation thanks to decisions of the government’s high powered committee (HPC) which diverted 1983.4 million cubic metres (mcm) from 41 dams to industry and domestic use between 2003 to 2011 affecting 3.23 lakh hectares.

A file picture of Koyna Dam in Satara district, Maharashtra.

According to a report by Pune based NGO Prayas which will be published shortly, the committee headed by then irrigation minister Ajit Pawar for the most part, ignored protests and high court orders to steamroll decisions. Other agencies too approved reservations for non-irrigation use of 1385.29 mcm affecting 94,116.9 hectares. Totally this meant that 4.18 lakh hectares were bereft of irrigation. The Water Policy of Maharashtra for 2003 gave industry precedence over agriculture and the HPC constituted in 2003, only decided on proposals for diverting more than 25 per cent of the storage capacity of the dam to non-irrigation uses. Of the 56 proposals for diversion to non-irrigation use, the HPC approved water diversions from 41 dams. Read more

Source : www.thehindu.com

Progress under RKVY reviewed

Srinagar : About Rs 80 crore were spent under centrally sponsored scheme Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) in Jammu and Kashmir during 2012-13 for the development of agriculture and allied sectors. This includes Rs 21 crore for increasing production and productivity of crops, fruits, milk, mutton as also Cocoon and Fish. Rs. 47 crore for revival of Saffron under National Mission on Saffron, Rs. 7 crore for area expansion under Vegetable Initiative for Urban Cluster Programme and Rs 5 crore for Nutrient Management Protein Supplementation for Livestock. 

During the year Rs 93 crore have been released by Government of India there by expenditure has been over 85 percent. Read more

Source : www.greaterkashmir.com

Bihar to harness nuclear energy in agriculture

Move expected to boost shelf-life of vegetables, fruits and aid in altering nutrients

Patna: After encouraging farmers to adopt organic farming, the Bihar government is now exploring how farmers might benefit from nuclear technology, officials said on Wednesday.

V.B. Patel, chairman of the horticulture department of Bihar Agricultural University (BAU) at Sabour in Bhagalpur district, said that nuclear energy could be used in plant breeding and for developing new varieties. Radiation could be used for mutation, he said, and nuclear energy could also be used to increase the shelf-life of vegetables like potatoes and onions. Read more

Source : gulfnews.com

Centre red flags Polavaram works

HYDERABAD: The jinxed Polavaram irrigation project yet again hit a road block with the Centre on Friday asking the state to immediately stop the works till the concerns raised by the Odisha government are addressed.

Union water resources minister Harish Rawat said the Centre wanted to take the opinions of the states of Odisha, Chhattisgarh, and AP on some of the issues concerning environment and livelihood issues, and till such time, the works should be stopped. "Some of the issues raised by the Odisha government need serious attention and we need to look into them. We would like to convene a secretary-level meeting of the parties before proceeding with the project. Till the issues are resolved, the AP government should stop the works," Rawat said. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Nabard sanctions under RIDF in West Bengal up 27%

KOLKATA : The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) has sanctioned nearly Rs 1,402 crore under the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF XVIII), including warehousing to the West Bengal Government in 2012-13.

This is a 27 per cent increase over the sanctions made in 2011-12, a press statement issued by Nabard said. Read more

Source : www.thehindubusinessline.com

The glass is all empty

That water is more than just a resource and that we need to do everything we can to save/harvest this precious resource is a no-brainer. 

Yet, India seems to be way too casual about the way it is (mis)using this resource: across urban India, there is not much effort to harvest rainwater, and in rural parts, we continue to focus on water-intensive crops leading to dwindling water levels and a severe drinking water crisis. Read more

Source : www.hindustantimes.com

Coconut cultivation has great potential in coastal Andhra

HYDERABAD: Andhra Pradesh offers tremendous potential for coconut cultivation on over 5 lakh hectare of land from the existing 1.1 lakh hectare, according to a top official of the Coconut Development Board. 

 

There is enormous potential for growing coconut in the entire coastal Andhra Pradesh and many other districts. The present area under coconut cultivation is around 1.1 lakh hectare and there is scope to grow coconut on around 5-5.5 lakh hectare of land, CDB chairman T K Jose told PTI. Read more

Source : economictimes.indiatimes.com

Officials bleed Karnataka Cooperative Agriculture and Rural Development Bank

If the financial performance of the Karnataka State Cooperative Agriculture and Rural Development Bank Ltd is not good, part of the blame should go to some of its own officials.

The bank calls a monthly meeting of all the 12 members of the managing committee in Bangalore, and as per its by-laws, the officials stationed at various places can claim bus or train fare, or Rs 8 per km travelled if they come in their cars or jeeps. But since 2010, four of the members have been producing false travelling bills as if they have been using their own vehicles and claiming travel allowances running into lakhs now. This came to light through a reply to an RTI application by advocate N Sriram Reddy of Bangalore. Read more

Source : newindianexpress.com

UPA exports wheat at Rs 1,700 crore loss to exchequer

NEW DELHI: At a time when the government is facing trouble maintaining its fiscal health and is set to add over Rs 1.25 lakh crore to its subsidy bill for providing food security to its poor, the UPA has burdened the exchequer further by exporting wheat at lower than its cost price — incurring an estimated loss of over Rs 1,700 crore.

The export date for wheat has now been extended till June 2013 to facilitate bulk sale as it has no storage space and the new procurement season is just ahead.

Sources in the finance ministry said the loss to the exchequer on account of exporting nearly 100 lakh tonnes of wheat at a subsidized rate has been estimated to be in the range of Rs 1,700 crore for 2012-13. The Cabinet had cleared export of wheat with subsidy, as the international prices were lower than the government's cost that includes procurement, storage and transportation. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com