Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the Pradhan Mantri Dhan Dhanya Krishi Yojana, or the developing agri-districts programme, in her record 8th Union Budget presentation on Saturday (February 1, 2025). Watch: Union Budget 2025: What’s in it for agriculture? The programme is motivated by the Aspirational Districts Programme which was launched in 2018 to “to quickly...
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Union Budget 2025: What do farmers want?
Considering the ten earlier Budgets of the BJP-led government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, there is nothing much that the farmers and agricultural workers of India can expect from the coming Union Budget 2025 (eleventh) except more vicious attacks on their livelihood, made under the smokescreen of high-sounding phrases about their welfare. Dismal record...
End duty-free tea imports: Tea Association of India
GUWAHATI An association of tea planters and traders has sought stringent steps to ensure cheaper duty-free teas from African, Asian and South American countries are not imported by a section of traders, to be re-exported, at the cost of the image of the beverage produced in India. The steps suggested include bailing the Indian tea...
Northeast small tea growers flag impact of massive imports
GUWAHATI A jump in tea imports from African and Asian countries coupled with the Tea Board’s directive on early closure of tea production across North India has impacted the small-scale planters, an association of small tea growers has said. Also Read | Tea body fears 50% crop loss ahead In a letter to Prime Minister...
Indian tea industry worried about 288% jump in imports from Kenya
GUWAHATI India, the world’s largest tea producer after China, has become the largest importer of the beverage from Kenya. According to the Tea Board of Kenya, exports to India shot up from 3.53 million kg from January to October 2023 to 13.71 million kg during the same period in 2024. The 288% jump makes India the...
Big coffee planters in Karnataka see relief, but small planters continue to face labour shortage
: Karnataka’s big coffee planters, reeling under years of labour shortage, are enjoying a welcome respite this harvest season as migrant workers arrived in sufficient numbers to meet the demand even as coffee prices have hit a record high this year, offering a financial cushion to growers after years of challenges. For the past five...
The way forward for PM-KISAN
The Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN), which provides yearly income support of ₹6,000 to eligible farmer families in three instalments, has been through highs and lows both in terms of coverage and payout. It became operational from December 2018. Originally intended for small and marginal farmers, the scheme, which was launched in February 2019,...
Punjab Government rejects Centre’s draft policy on agricultural marketing
The Punjab Government has formally rejected the Centre’s draft policy on agricultural marketing, asserting that it is an attempt to bring back the “contentious” provisions of the three farms laws repealed in 2021 after a year-long protest by farmers. The State Government noted that since agriculture marketing is a State subject, the Government of India...
PM’s Principal Secretary endorses use of hybrid seeds in rice, pulses, oilseeds
Endorsing the use of hybrid seeds to increase crop production and reduce import dependency, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister P.K. Mishra said here on Wednesday (January 8, 2025) that hybrid research has to produce products that have higher productivity than open-pollinated seed varieties. Inaugurating the three-day National Symposium on Hybrid Technology for Enhanced Crop...
Coffee prices soar, but 15% loss in yield expected in Karnataka due to vagaries of weather
Coffee planters are a confused lot this year. On the one hand, coffee prices have hit a record high. On the other, vagaries of the weather through 2023 and 2024 have resulted in erratic ripening and a dip in yield this season. The Coffee Board is estimating an average 15% loss this season due to this....
