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Near the entrance of the newly-expanded outlet store of Vaisakh Gardens, situated at Kuravankonam, in Thiruvananthapuram, two refrigerators are placed on the ground with multiple levers on top. They are labelled passionfruit kombucha, dragon fruit kombucha, mango kombucha, and so on, connected to a 10-litre metal keg inside the cooler. Pull down the black lever;...

A general body meeting of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) held in New Delhi on Sunday (July 20, 2025) has warned the Union government against going ahead with the proposed trade agreement with the United States. The SKM said, in a statement on Monday (July 21, 2025), that the general body has also called for...

Gujarat recorded a total production of 48.59 lakh tonnes of potatoes in the 2024–25 season, which includes varieties cultivated for processing into French fries and wafers, officials said on Monday. The State has emerged as the top producer of processed potatoes in India, followed by Uttar Pradesh and Punjab. The processed potato segment in Gujarat...

Assam’s first bagless tea brand, Woolah Tea, has been granted a 20-year patent (No. 567895) for its innovative ‘compressed true whole leaf tea dips and method thereof’ (patent name). Founded by Upamanyu Borkotoky and Ansuman Bharali from Sibsagar district in Assam, Woolah is a start-up rooted in Assam’s tea heritage. Compressed tea bundle, the bagless...

Rapeseed-mustard oil (hereafter ‘mustard oil’) is the third-largest edible oil consumed in India. Two executive and judicial decisions on mustard oil — one from 2021 and another from 2024 — have major public health implications, but have hardly received the public attention and scrutiny they deserve. In the first decision, the Food Safety and Standards...

GUWAHATI The North East Confederation of Small Tea Growers’ Association (NECSTGA) has sought steps, including weather-based crop insurance and regulation of leaf-dealing agents, to safeguard the 200-year-old beverage industry. In a memorandum to the Chairperson of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Commerce, the NECSTGA pointed out that the woes of small tea growers need to...

Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Thursday (May 27, 2025) asserted that the income of people has to increase eightfold to define Viksit Bharat and urged farmers to look beyond agriculture and explore agro-based products to increase their income. Talking to reporters after paying tributes to former Prime Minister Charan Singh on his death anniversary in New...

The Organic Shandy, Mylapore Native mango varieties reign this year says organic farmer and co-founder of Organic Shandy, PB Murali. He adds that the mango season in Tamil Nadu has been quite the disaster so far, with farmers managing only about 20% of the expected yield. However, as they are all discovering, the heritage varieties...

Cultivation of paddy, pulses, coarse grains and oilseeds has expanded this kharif season, said the Agriculture Ministry in New Delhi on Monday (May 12, 2025), after a meeting chaired by Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. As on May 2, sowing of paddy had increased by 3.44 lakh hectares while the sowing of pulses had increased...

Draped in a blue pattu sari, gold chains around her neck and ears heavy with jewellery, 60-year-old Rangamma of Hothi B. village in Telangana’s Medak district still carries the quiet dignity of a woman who once believed she had a stake in change. Seated on the low wall of a village well, she opens her...