Think India Foundation

Over 2,000 weather stations to come up in Maharashtra

The 100-cr project expected to benefit farmers

MUMBAI : With the Maharashtra Government planning to set up 2,025 automatic weather stations (AWSs) across the State, farmers could benefit from the information obtained to decide on the cropping pattern and take preventive steps to protect the standing crop in case of weather changes.

The Rs 100-crore project will get a viability-gap funding from the Centre. The farmers could realise the advantage of the AWS from the kharif season of 2013. AWSs would be located in every revenue circle, comprising a cluster of 20-30 villages. Read more

Source : thehindubusinessline.com

Odisha: NRO urges Centre to establish Central Agriculture University at Kalahandi

Bhubaneswar: Non-resident Odia Digambara Patra urges Union Minister of Agriculture Sharad Pawar to set up Central Agriculture University at Kalahandi in Odisha. In a letter to Pawar, Patra said that, "the steps you have taken for the growth of agriculture in the nation are highly appreciated. Recent declaration of central Government to give special importance to agricultural growth of eastern part of the nation including Odisha, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand etc is also adorable."

"Agriculture contributes substantial portion to our economy and human resources. It is the prime source to the rural economy and is backbone of the nation. As the agriculture land area is decreasing due to urbanization and industries, to meet the food demand at the national and international level the stress on agricultural out put per hectare of agricultural land will increase with population." Read more

Source : orissadiary.com

Regularise bagair hukum land, government urged

BANGALORE : Demanding regularisation of land around the city used for bagair hukum cultivation, hundreds of farmers staged a protest in front of the Deputy Commissioner's Office here on Wednesday.

Chief Minister Sadananda Gowda's car passing in front of Towan Hall where Members of Karnataka Pranta Raitha Sangha ( KPRS) staging a protest demanding Cultivation of Rights to Bagarhukum farmers within 18 kilometers radius of Bangalore in Bangalore on 22nd February 2012. Photo : K . Bhagya Prakash .

“Around 20,000 farmers in Bangalore Urban and Rural districts have been cultivating land for more than 30 years, and yet the Government refuses to regularise their land,” said N. Venkatachalaiah, Bangalore District Unit president of Karnataka Pranta Raita Sangha (KPRS), which organised the protest. Read more

Source : thehindu.com

Inequality has grown in last 20 years, P Sainath

INEQUALITY has grown a lot more in last 20 years became of neoliberal economic policies than any other period in the history of independent India, said famous journalist and Magsaysay Award winner P Sainath. He was delivering the second C Sarath Chandran Memorial lecture on "Inequality, livelihood and agrarian crisis" organised as part of VIBGYOR International Film Festival-2012 at Sangeeta Nataka Akademi KT Muhammed Memorial Theatre yesterday. 

P Sainath, eminent journalist and Magsaysay award winner delivering Sarath Chandran memorial lecture on "Inequality, livelihood and agrarian crisis" as part of VIBGYOR-2012 at KT Muhammed Smaraka Theatre yesterday.

Kerala is the most globalised economy in India. So, the state is more vulnerable to the volatility of global market prices. The neoliberal policies followed by the central government will be implemented full-blooded after the coming elections to five states with various international treaties affecting the farm sector in the state, which is focused more on export-oriented cash crop cultivation, he warned. Read more

Source : cityjournal.in

Water woes loom large over Bangalore

MYSORE: With early onset of summer all but a foregone conclusion, all eyes are on the rain gods, for if the Cauvery catchment areas do not receive sufficient pre-monsoon showers, hassle-free water supply to Bangalore and other towns may remain a mirage.

Officials of the irrigation department are a worried lot indeed: with receding water levels in three primary reservoirs - Krishnaraja Sagar, Kabini and Hemavathi (see table) - they may need to perform a balancing act in meeting the needs of the urban population and farmers simultaneously. Read more

Source : ibnlive.in.com

MLAs join farmers' protest against ring road project

JAIPUR: The list of Congress leaders joining the protesting farmers' camp against the ring road project is getting longer by the day.

While urban development and housing (UDH) minister Shanti Dhariwal is adamant to construct the ring road on 360 meters of acquired land so far, Congress MLA from Bagru, Ganga Devi on Tuesday came out in support of the farmers and protested at MP Mahesh Joshi's residence. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Jobless growth continues in India

India's growth since 2004-05 has been driven by labour productivity rather than employment increases.

Informal employment is not restricted to agriculture alone, but is prevalent in the urban economy as well.

The report on Global Employment Patterns 2012, released recently by the International Labour Organisation (ILO), is heroically sub-titled “Preventing a deeper jobs crisis”, even as the global economic crisis is deepening. It expresses a fond and vain hope that its scholarly and detailed profiles of the labour scenario will be effective in protecting it from the warp and weft of a situation that it already considers rather hopeless; as it admits: “The policy space to boost recovery remains limited.” Read more

Source : thehindubusinessline.com

Seeding a policy without the dirt on climate change

ICAR says knowledge of climate change impact in India is 'fragmentary'

Genetics mode: Researchers working with transgenic groundnut plants engineered for drought resistance at the glasshouse facility of the Genetic Transformation Lab at ICRISAT in Hyderabad. Photo: K. Gajendran

A recent international conference on climate change and sustainable agriculture in New Delhi brought forth the shocking realisation that there are no conclusive studies in India on the prospective impact of climate change on the agriculture sector including livestock and fisheries.

Much of the country's understanding comes from global data provided by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the World Meteorological Organisation and other world bodies. Read more

Source : thehindu.com

Slur of being single

A national consultation on rural single women threw up a host of issues requiring urgent intervention. The testimonies revealed that wherever single rural women raised their voices, they were likely to be labelled as witches, traitors, agents of social and cultural divisiveness.

Artists from Orissa during a press preview on the eve of 25th Surajkund Crafts Mela in Haryana last month. Photo: Rajeev Bhatt

A National Consultation on Agrarian Single Women recently focussed on issues of distress, access to livelihood and services. The consultation, a meeting ground of intellectuals, academicians, grassroots activists, rural single women, and widows, examined the larger issues of agrarian crisis and the unabated farmer suicides. In the micro context, they focussed on differential entitlements within the family coupled with institutional discrimination in terms of access to basic services, deliverables and schemes available to poor rural widows and single women. Read more

Source : thehindu.com

Industry doyens give thumbs up to Bihar dvpt, credit Nitish for progress

Patna: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Sunday said that though the state’s interest had been ignored by successive central governments since Independence, the spirit of the people had not been dampened and they had set the course for development with social justice under NDA rule.

Speaking at the conclusion of the three-day Global Summit on Changing Bihar, Kumar singled out agriculture as the backbone of the state’s economy. Read more

Source : firstpost.com

Bihar moots global advisory council

PATNA: Upbeat over the success of three-day 'Global Summit on Changing Bihar', the state government is seriously contemplating to constitute a Global Advisory Council.

The purpose of the council, deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi said, would be to invite experts of different fields and discuss the state's problems coming in the way of development. Since organizing global summit on regular intervals has its own constraints, the council would organize meets of experts at a lower scale to advise the state government on how it could move forward. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Research: agriculture accounts for 92% of average global water use

Researchers at the University of Twente, in Enschede the Netherlands, report mankind's water footprint in the US Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The study quantified and mapped the water footprint (WF) of humanity at a high spatial resolution. Read more

Source : allaboutfeed.net

Let children enjoy learning, says Abdul Kalam

COIMBATORE : "Inspired by ‘India Vision 2020’, the youth are now thinking in terms of what they can do for the nation. I have met 12 million youth in a decade and I can say there is a marked change in their thinking process", former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam said here on Monday.

Students greeting former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam as he arrives for an interface with them at PSG College of Arts and Science in the city on Monday. Photo: M. Periasamy

At an interface with students of PSG Institutions at PSG College of Arts and Science, he said youth were now ready to contribute to the development of the country. This confidence of the 600 million youth of India was the greatest asset that no other country had. Read more

Source : thehindu.com

'12th Plan must give special emphasis on agriculture'

Bhubaneswar (PTI) : Advocating a separate budget for agriculture in Odisha during the 12th five-year plan, a noted agricultural economist has said it would enable the state to achieve more than four per cent growth in the farm sector by giving special thrust and removing hurdles.

"Since Odisha'’s economic growth is over 9 per cent, higher than national average, there should be a separate budget for agriculture during 12th Plan period (2012-2017) to transfer the benefits of high growth to rural poor," said Dibakar Naik, Professor in Agriculture Economics in Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT) here. Read more

Source : ibnlive.in.com

World Bank to assist Bengal in minor irrigation work: Pranab Mukherjee

BHAGABANPUR: The World Bank will extend financial assistance for undertaking minor irrigation projects in West Bengal, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said today.

"The World Bank will provide aid for Rs 1,250-crore minor irrigation project in the state," Mukherjee said at the launch of the flood control project of the Keleghai, Kopaleswhari and Baghai rivers in East Midnapore district here. Read more

Source : articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com

Solar water pumps ideal for small & middle farmers, say PAU experts

The rate of electrification in India has not kept pace with expanding population, urbanisation and industrialisation, and has resulted in the increasing deficit between demand and supply of electricity, said experts of the Department of Soil and Water Engineering (SWE), Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), here on Thursday.

Dr A K Jain, Head, SWE, pointed out, “There is a limited availability/access to grid power in rural areas and the farmers have to rely mostly on hand operated and diesel operated water lifting devices and pumps. However, they are expensive to run. The farmers often run out of money buying fuel to operate their pumps before the crop is ready for harvest. To overcome this problem, solar water pumping system is an answer to the Punjab farmer.” Read more

Source : indianexpress.com

Per capita income in AP up 14% at Rs 71,540

Services sector contribution up, agriculture down

HYDERABAD : The per capita income of Andhra Pradesh, an indicator of standard of living of people, at current prices has been estimated at Rs 71,540 for 2011-12, registering a growth of 13.71 per cent over the previous financial year in the State and 14.3 per cent more over all India's Rs 60,972. 

According to the Socio Economic Survey 2011-12 released in the State Assembly today, the sectoral composition of the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) during 2004-05 through to 2011-12 (advanced estimates) shows that the services sector contributes about 55.1 per cent, the industry 25.7 per cent and agriculture 19.2 per cent. Read more

Source : thehindubusinessline.com

Maharashtra regulator suggests water trading

The proposal allows farmers to sell 50% of quota to other farmers if they feel they can’t use it fully

The Maharashtra Water Resources Regulatory Authority (MWRRA), an autonomous body that decides issues related to tariffs and allocation of water, has published a draft paper and is inviting public comments on its controversial recommendation to allow trading of water within the agriculture sector.

The paper argues that the move will promote efficiencies in water usage. The paper states that farmers can be allowed to sell 50% of the allocated quota to other farmers if they feel they are not in a position to use the entire quota. For example, if farmer A has been allocated a quota of 10,000 litres of water per day from dam B, and he feels he can utilize only 7,000 litres of water per day, he may sell the rest of his quota to other farmers. But the sale of water should not exceed 50% of the quota, which implies that farmer A would not be able to sell more than 5,000 litres of water in this case. Read more

Source : livemint.com

Spotlight on modern agri strategies, findings

ALLAHABAD: The two day 14th Indian agricultural scientists and Farmer's Congress would be held in the city from January 18. Being organised under the joint-auspices of Bioved research institute of agriculture and technology and Vigyan Prasar, Department of Science and Technology (DST), the congress would discuss the topic of diversification in agriculture agripreneurship.

Detailing on the congress, the director of Bioved, Dr Brijesh K Dwivedi said that the congress intends to disperse the modern agricultural strategies and research findings among the farmers to enrich agriculture, the backbone of the country. The life, living and culture of the people of the country depend largely on agriculture. Now a days diversification of agriculture has become a key word for the policy makers and planners for strengthening the agricultural sector as a whole and members of farming community in-particular. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

'Curb wastage, pollution to tackle water disputes'

New Delhi: Curbing wastage, reducing pollution and forming joint platforms to assess geological changes were among the urgent steps needed to tackle the growing conflicts on water between countries and within their own boundaries, say experts. 

The issue was debated at length by various experts, including filmmakers, columnists, academics and activists, at a roundtable on Water at War at the Alliance Francaise here Wednesday. Water had led to tensions between countries and caused fights within cities, the participants noted. Read more

Source : zeenews.india.com

How to slash power subsidies

The irrationality and waste in energy subsidies in India has been a perennial theme in analysis of the Indian economy and in reform prescriptions. Progress has, however, turned out to be elusive in the face of ground realities and feasible politics. 

The power ministry, after struggling for over a decade through repeated exhortations, had the satisfaction of getting a resolution in a Chief Ministers Conference in 2001 that free supply of electricity to farmers should be done away with. Nevertheless, 10 years later, the situation regarding free or, practically free, supply of electricity to farmers is practically the same. No chief minister seems inclined to touch the issue. Read more

Source : economictimes.indiatimes.com

Artificial Glaciers Water Crops in Indian Highlands

Villagers discover that it is easier to store water in ice than in a reservoir, and less is lost to evaporation.

Ran Bhadur (right) and Mohan Bhadur (left) shovel sand and rock to dam a stone embankment holding water that will eventually freeze and serve as an artificial glacier in the village of Stakmo in India's northern Ladakh region. Photograph by Mary Knox Merrill, Christian Science Monitor/Getty Images

This story is part of a National Geographic News series on global water issues.

A remote Indian village is responding to global warming-induced water shortages by creating large masses of ice, or "artificial glaciers," to get through the dry spring months. (See a map of the region.)

Located on the western edge of the Tibetan plateau, the village of Skara in the Ladakh region of India is not a common tourist destination. Read more

Source : news.nationalgeographic.com

UN: Soil erosion increasing global warming threat

Global warming will get worse as agricultural methods accelerate the rate of soil erosion, which depletes the amount of carbon the soil is able to store, a United Nations' Environment Programme report said today.

Soil contains huge quantities of carbon in the form of organic matter which provides nutrients for plant growth and improves soil fertility and water movement.

The top metre of soil alone stores around 2,200 billion tonnes of carbon, which is three times the level currently held in the atmosphere, said the UNEP Year Book 2012. Read more

Source : buenosairesherald.com

Pre-hospital Emergency Care - a Top Priority

The goal of an ideal pre-hospital emergency care system should be to match the needs of the patients to the available resources so that optimal, prompt and cost-effective care can be offered

Trauma is the neglected disease of modern developing nations. Inadequate evacuation of casualties had been identified as the main cause of delay in offering medical attention, resulting in higher mortality since World War II. “Bring the doctor to the patient” approach was implemented in Germany in 1957, which very soon became the accepted norm in the European countries. Similar approach was adopted in the US but, instead of doctors, trained paramedical staffs were provided in ambulances.

In India, every 1.9 minutes one trauma related death takes place, affecting the most productive age group (20-40 years) and leading to 2-2.5 per cent GDP loss. Lack of medical attention had been attributed to 30 per cent of deaths at the site and 80 per cent of the remaining patients dying within an hour of injury. Most of these deaths are due to airway problem, respiratory failure or continuing heamorrhage which can be prevented to a great extent with appropriate pre-hospital emergency care. Considering the urgency of immediate treatment the ‘golden hour’ and ‘platinum minutes’ concepts had been developed to minimise the gap between the time of injury and initial medical attention.Unfortunately, pre-hospital trauma care is not available to most of the world’s population and India is no exception. Apart from trauma emergency care, it is also necessary following natural calamities, radiation exposure, near drowning and other medical emergencies. Basic principles of pre-hospital emergency care remain the same with certain specific issues related to each type of emergency. Read more

Source : expresshealthcare.in

Government seeks India Inc help to push agriculture schemes

Mumbai : The government proposes to rope in the industrial sector in a big way to promote agri schemes through a coordinated farmer-industry-centric policy.

The proposed model envisages formation of a producer company with the direct involvement of a company consisting of farmers or farmer bodies that could look into the implementation, monitoring and growth of government schemes, especially in rain-fed areas. Rain-fed agriculture is used to describe farming practices that rely mostly on rainfall for water. Read more

Source : business-standard.com

MGNREGA Luring Away Labour From Farm Fields: Study

BANGALORE : Besides creating labour shortage in the agriculture sector, cost of farm production increased by upto 20 per cent in Karnataka after implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, the Centre’s flagship programme aimed at alleviating poverty, revealed a new research study.

The study by Institute for Social and Economic Change Bangalore, stated that after implementation of the job scheme, in majority of villages shortage of labour in agriculture was observed during kharif sowing season of July, August and September. The scheme came into operation in February 2006. Read more

Source : news.outlookindia.com

Farmers of Aurangabad oppose land acquisition

AURANGABAD: Farmers and activists affiliated to different social organizations joined hands on Thursday to oppose land acquisition by the government for the proposed Delhi-Mumbai industrial corridor, under which 10,000 hectares land would be acquired for setting up four mega industrial projects in the district.

"The activists have planned a meet at Bidkin, about 20 km from the city, on February 11 to chalk out the future course of action. Narmada Bachao Andolan leader Medha Patkar has been invited to address the meet", said Vijay Diwan and Subhash Lomte, members of the action committee. Thousands of affected farmers from Aurangabad and Jalna districts would attend the Bidkin meet, they said. Read more

Source : articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Who's who to attend summit on changing Bihar

PATNA: Top honchos of various fields are expected to attend the three-day Global Summit on Changing Bihar, scheduled to open here on February 17.

To be inaugurated by Nepal PM Baburam Bhattarai, the summit will be spread over various sessions and workshops on themes like agriculture, health, industries, urban development, infrastructure, finance, tourism, education and socio-cultural renaissance. It is being organized by Bihar Foundation, Institute for Human Development (IHD) and Asian Development Research Institute (ADRI). Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Munda worried over tardy pace of development

Ranchi : Expressing concern over lower expenditure by the Departments, Chief Minister Arjun Munda said that the Government was worried about the pace of development and willing to expedite the efforts in this direction. A mere Rs 4,023 crore out of total plan outlay of Rs 15,300 crore, had been utilised by all the departments till December last year.

Talking to reporters after the review meeting, the CM said that apart from keeping an eye on expenditure, his Government was also committed to come down hard on corrupt officials, siphoning the money meant for development works. “We are worried about the lesser expenses. We have formulated some other ways that would be reflected in the days to come. Instructions have been passed to all the departments in this regard.” Read more

Source : dailypioneer.com

Mamata asks Centre to give fertiliser subsidy

Krishnagar, West Bengal: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today urged the Centre to give fertiliser subsidy to farmers and assailed the Left parties for not opposing UPA government’s decision in 2009 to decontrol fertiliser prices.

Worried about farmers. Image courtesy PIB

“The CPM, which had provided outside support to the UPA government, did not oppose it. We had no knowledge about it and if we were in the government we would have opposed it,” Banerjee told reporters, saying the decontrol of prices paved the way for increase in the prices of the vital agricultural input. Read more

Source : firstpost.com

Property registration falls in Ahmedabad

Ahmedabad : Despite all-round development of Ahmedabad and the growing urbanisation, property sales deed registration in the city has declined, which indicates that the realty market is entering into slowdown. The city witnessed 1.05 lakh sales deed registrations at 14 sub-registrar offices during 2011, which was 1.09 lakh in 2010. It shows a decline of 3.5% in the city.

The comparative property sales deed registration data of 2010 and 2011 reveals that the city and west zone have witnessed a fall, while the east has registered a growth. The west zone, covering sub-registrar’s offices in Memnagar, Vadaj, Paldi, Vejalpur, Daskroi (agriculture), Sola and Bopal, witnessed registration of 50,601 sales deeds in 2011, which were at 57,664 in 2010, thus showing a decline of 12.24% over the previous year. Read more

Source : dnaindia.com

Ministry to hold meeting on reforms in PDS, food security bill from Feb 8-9

New Delhi : Ministry of consumer affairs, food & public distribution has convened a meeting of state food & agriculture ministers to discuss reforms in PDS. Improvement in Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS), procurement of food grains and enhancement of storage capacity in view of proposed National Food Security Act are also on the agenda of the meeting. 

The two-day conference, to be held on February 8 and 9, 2012, in New Delhi, will be inaugurated by finance minister Pranab Mukherjee and will be addressed by agriculture minister Sharad Pawar and consumer affairs, food & public distribution K V Thomas. Senior officials of various Central ministries, planning commission and UIDAI (Unique Identification Authority of India) are also expected to participate. Read more

Source : fnbnews.com

Declining farm rentals worry rural landlords

AHMEDABAD: Rural landlords are bracing themselves for charging less rent from their tenant farmers for the first time in several years, signifying a reduction in remuneration from the livelihood that sustains about half of India's population. While rentals are likely to be revised downwards in Punjab and Haryana, a revised formula is being devised in states such as Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Rajasthan, where landlords get paid in kind.

The annual rental in Punjab will come down from Rs 25,000-30,000 per acre depending on the land quality to Rs 20,000-25,000 per acre in the contracts due to be signed soon, says Sukhjit Bhatti, a progressive potato farmer from Jalandhar. "Two consecutive years of bumper crop across the country, leading to poor returns, have led to this situation," he says, "This hasn't happened for a long time." Read more

Source : articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com

Focus on providing urban amenities in rural India: APJ Kalam

NEW DELHI: To become an economically developed nation by 2020, India needs to focus on sustainable development of villages by providing urban amenities in rural areas (PURA), former President A P J Abdul Kalam said today.

"The development of 6,00,000 villages is vital for developed India. The foundation of sustainable development of rural areas is PURA which means providing urban amenities in rural areas," Kalam said after inaugurating the second Global Agri-business Incubation Conference here. Read more

Source : articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com

Helping beehives thrive

Mumbai : It may be the month for lovers with Valentine’s Day just around the corner, but nature enthusiasts too have reasons to celebrate. Tomorrow, Maharashta Nature Park in Dharavi, will see a plethora of activities take place as city-based organisation, Under The Mango Tree, is set to host, what could be, India’s first National Bee Day. The aim of the event is to create awareness about the Indian indigenous honeybee, Apis cerana indica, and its impact on the local environment. As part of the day’s agenda, a survey that shows the deep connection between bees and plants will also be unveiled.

“Farmers tend to use European bees when they indulge in beekeeping and they are quite expensive. Through this event, we hope to create awareness about Indian bees and prove that they are a more sustainable option,” says Gurushabd Khalsa, Urban Beekeeping Project Coordinator, adding that a single bee box can have a substantial impact on a farm’s productivity. Read more

Source : hindustantimes.com

'India should adopt sustainable ways of farming'

New Delhi: A top climate scientist today asked India to adopt sustainable ways of farming which is under pressure due to water crisis caused by global warming. 

UN Secretary General's Special Advisor Jeffrey D Sach also underlined the need for adopting green technology to deal with the issue of climate change in various sectors including agriculture. Read more

Source : zeenews.india.com

Sadananda Gowda seeks aid for farmers in former PM’s backyard

Bangalore : Chief minister DV Sadananda Gowda has urged the Centre to announce a special package for farmers and set up a potato research station in Hassan, the home district of former prime minister HD Deve Gowda.

In a representation to prime minister Manmohan Singh and agriculture minister Sharad Pawar, he mentioned Hassan MP Deve Gowda’s recent letter regarding damage caused to crops such as potato, cardamom, ginger, turmeric and tur dal in Karnataka, particularly in Hassan. Read more

Source : dnaindia.com

We are now looking at NREGA 2.0

As minister for rural development, Jairam Ramesh oversees the largest spending in the social sector by the government. This includes the marquee Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) that was pioneered by the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance in 2006. The minister, an alumnus of the Indian Institute of Technology and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is known for his forthrightness. In a typically candid interview to Mint on the eve of the sixth anniversary of MGNREGS, Ramesh conceded that there were legitimate concerns about the programme. Ruling out any chance of a rollback of the entitlement programme, he said the ministry was ironing out the faults and that a revamped version would be launched before the presentation of the next Union budget in March. Edited excerpts:

It is the sixth anniversary of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employee Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). How do you rate the success of the programme? What are the metrics you would use to rate it? Read more

Source : livemint.com

Solutions evade impending water crisis

New Delhi: Farmers in the South-Indian state of Tamil Nadu are switching from paddy cultivation to panning for salt. On the other extreme of the sub-continent, hundreds of thousands of people live in harm’s way in the event of a glacial lake outburst-triggered flood, or GLOFs as they are called. 

Something sinister connects the two disturbing happenings – amplifying the vulnerabilities of people from the northern Hindu-Kush-Himalayan range to India's southernmost tip, Kanya Kumari, a whopping 1.5 billion people and counting. The least common denominator exasperating the vulnerabilities is the phenomenon of climate change. Read more

Source : zeenews.india.com

2011-20 declared irrigation decade by Karnataka govt

BANGALORE : State Government to make efforts to totally utilise its share of Krishna waters

Prafulatha Bharadwaj, wife of Governor, watching the proceedings while Governor H R Bharadwaj addresses the Joint session at Vidhana Soudha in Bangalore on 30th January 2012. Photo. K. Bhagya Prakash

The State Government has declared 2011-20 as Irrigation Decade and all out efforts will be made for total utilisation of the waters of river Krishna allocated to Karnataka under the Krishna Tribunal Award-2. Read more

Source : thehindu.com

Need to raise agri productivity before bringing food law: Pawar

NEW DELHI: Agriculture minister Sharad Pawar on Sunday said it would be difficult to implement the proposed food security bill without adequate funds to boost agricultural output.

Pawar, who was not fully aligned with the Congress on the food security legislation, argued that his grievance was that the total budgeted provision for entire agriculture ministry was Rs 20,000 crore and subsidy, as of today, was Rs 65,000 crore which might go up to Rs 1 lakh crore in the current year. Read more

Source : articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Scientists urged to find solutions to problems faced by Karnataka

MANGALORE : Chief Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda and top space scientist and Chairman of the Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad U.R. Rao on Saturday urged the scientific community to find solutions to the “burning” problems of the State and the country.

They were participating in the inauguration of a two-day seminar on “Science and Technology: Challenges and Opportunities” organised by the Karnataka Science and Technology Academy, headed by Prof. Rao, at Mangalore University. Read more

Source : thehindu.com

Slumbering govt leaves development lopsided

Bangalore : Public expenditure review reveals shortcomings in State’s planning

The inability of the successive governments to prioritise expenditure has led to lopsided development in many of the key sectors like education, health, irrigation and energy in the last 10 years in the State.

A review of public expenditure by the Expenditure Reforms Commission (ERC) has revealed that these sectors are witnessing a situation where there are either too many staff or insufficient infrastructure and vice versa. Read more

Source : deccanherald.com

PMO asks ministries to cut out flab in report cards

NEW DELHI: The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) has asked ministries to cut out the flab while submitting their monthly report card on progress in the thrust areas that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has identified to be the core of the UPA-II's agenda in 2012-13.

A case in point is the directive to the coal ministry that seeks a monthly report card in the form of a "running note, not exceeding 500 words". Information, including additional inputs, may still be furnished in tabular format, which is a favourite with ministries and government departments. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Bharat craves for innovation

Attempts for rural technology incubations have been small and somewhat sporadic so far 

As the Indian economy grew rapidly over the past 20 years, it generated wealth for its citizens. However, the rapid economic rise has been accompanied by high differential growth in prosperity of the people — as incomes of certain sections have grown much faster compared with others. Read more

Source : mydigitalfc.com

MGNREGA enhanced financial inclusion of farmers: WEF report

DAVOS : Allegations of fund leakages notwithstanding, the MGNREGA scheme has improved access to financial services for farmers and holds a great scope for further agricultural and economic growth of the country, a World Economic Forum report said on Friday.

Focus on soft infrastructure in the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) has led to successes in land rights issues, it said. Read more

Source : thehindu.com

Nitish govt taking Bihar on the path of development : Governor

PATNA: Bihar governor Devanand Konwar pledged the Nitish Kumar government would take the state on the development trajectory with thrust on strengthening the infrastructural facilities, electricity, agriculture and ensuring development with justice. 

Unfurling national tricolour on the occasion of 63rd Republic day at national function at the historic Gandhi Maidan here, Konwar dwelt on various remarkable measures taken by the state government in the fields of agriculture, irrigation, energy, education, health and environment. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Karnataka horticulture dept seeks Rs 2,000 cr in Budget

Mangalore : At a time when several agricultural districts were turning into horticultural districts in the state, the government has to provide budgetary support to develop horticulture in the state, said horticulture minister SA Ravindranath. “I have requested the government to outlay Rs 2,000 crore for the overall makeover of the horticulture department,” said the minister.

Dakshina Kannada was one of the main agricultural district that has turned into a horticulture district in the last 10 years, other districts that have shifted to horticulture include, Bijapur, Bidar, Chitradurga and Raichur. A few other districts were also on the way he said. Read more

Source : dnaindia.com

Govt shortchanged farmers?

GURGAON: Alleging that farmers and land owners have been shortchanged by the Haryana government, members of a citizens' body have alleged that HUDA "wrongfully" acquired land for the development of major and sector roads under the new master plan which covers 57 new sectors.

The members of the Gurgaon Citizens' Council have alleged that this act has not only benefited the private developers but has also left the state exchequer poorer by close to Rs 8,000 crore. The organization has written a letter to the state chief minister, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, to investigate the case. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

World Bank, AP hold talks for more projects

HYDERABAD : The Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, Mr N.Kiran Kumar Reddy, today held parleys with officials of the World Bank and made a case for more engagement in irrigation, roads, rural schemes and other social sectors.

A delegation of the World Bank headed by Mr. Hubert Nove Josserand, Operations Adviser, World Bank, New Delhi, and Mr Venu Rajamani, Joint Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs (DEA), met the Chief Minister at the secretariat on Monday. The delegation included several sector specialists and economists. Read more

Source : thehindubusinessline.com