The government, in an effort to prevent a repeat of the 2015 dal crisis, has been carefully managing the food economy through export and import bans and custom duties. But a recent government order concerning masoor, tur and chana dals has raised eyebrows. Lentils and the...
India’s personal goals, especially, seem to have been steamrolled in favour of US policy. New Delhi’s hosting of the G20 summit opened a window to observe India’s foreign policy goals. The summit was broken by the absence of Chinese and Russian presidents Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping,...
Himachal Pradesh's apple economy has suffered an estimated loss of over Rs 1,000 crore. However, it is not just climate change that has badly hit the state's apple economy. Heavy rainfall, heatwaves and erratic weather have jolted Himachal Pradesh’s apple economy, resulting in an estimated loss of over...
The 36 percent rainfall deficit last month has cast a shadow on crop output. Poor vegetative growth and pest infestation are already affecting crops. With rainfed agriculture accounting for 51 percent of India’s sown area and 40 percent of food production, a steep monsoon rain deficit...
Simply put, the government is saying one thing at the WTO and another thing to its farmers as the election year approaches, and is increasing MSP following only electoral logic. Recent statements in the media put the Modi government’s position at the World Trade Organisation on Minimum Support...
There is mounting evidence against the efficacy of nano urea or its claimed benefits for farmers or food production, and much of this comes from India. In light of new scientific research, the Narendra Modi government’s nano urea (NU) dream is fading. A recent paper by Max...
Ecological farming and care for the Earth connects the souls of India and the US. And if our countries are to be friends in real time, our foreign relations must include our farmers. As Air India One was entering US skies, my US road trip was ending....
The azure sky held a hint of crimson, perhaps the scorching sun had vaporised the arid red soil. My train had departed from Lisbon station an hour ago, at 6:30 pm, yet the lemon-yellow sun lingered over the countryside. My fellow passenger, a Bangladeshi man,...
The brain behind now-repealed farm laws is one NRI software engineer, whose only credentials for advising government on agriculture is that he is linked to 'the head of the BJP's overseas friend's unit'. The task force he headed recommended to the government that India should...
Is this strike three against the Modi government's food policies? With the farmers’ movement still in the backdrop, inflation in the price of vegetables is brewing trouble for the Narendra Modi government. A kilo of tomatoes has been worth more than two litres of petrol, and...