#kisan credit card tamil

[lallulalnews]

#lallulal #lallulalnews @lallulalnews किसान क्रेडिट कार्ड 2024: ऑनलाइन अप्लाई कैसे करें, ब्याज दर, ज़रूरी दस्तावेज #kisancreditcard  #kisancreditcardonlineapply #kisancreditcardloan #kisancreditcardscheme #kisancreditcardkaisebanaye किसान क्रेडिट कार्ड बनवाने के लिए चाहिए ये जरूरी दस्तावेज, एक भी कम होने पर हो सकती है दिक्कत भारत में किसान क्रेडिट कार्ड के लिए ऑनलाइन आवेदन करें किसान क्रेडिट कार्ड 2024: ऑनलाइन अप्लाई कैसे करें, ब्याज दर, ज़रूरी दस्तावेज सरकार द्वारा किसानों की आय को दोगुनी करने का लक्ष्य निर्धारित किया गया है। इसी बात को ध्यान में रखते हुए केंद्र सरकार ने किसान क्रेडिट कार्ड योजना का आरंभ किया है। आज हम आपको इस लेख के माध्यम से किसान क्रेडिट कार्ड योजना से संबंधित सभी महत्वपूर्ण जानकारी प्रदान करने जा रहे हैं। इस लेख को पढ़कर आपको इस योजना से संबंधित संपूर्ण जानकारी प्राप्त होगी। जैसे कि किसान क्रेडिट कार्ड योजना क्या है?, इसके लाभ, उद्देश्य, विशेषताएं, पात्रता, महत्वपूर्ण दस्तावेज, आवेदन प्रक्रिया आदि। तो दोस्तों यदि आप Kisan Credit Card Yojana से संबंधित संपूर्ण जानकारी प्राप्त करना चाहते हैं kisan credit card,kisaan credit card,pm kisan credit card,kishan credit card,kisan credit card loan,kisan credit card upsc,kisan kredit card,kisan credit card apply,pashu kisan credit card,kisan credit card tamil,kisan credit card hindi,apply kisan credit card,kisan credit card (kcc),nepal kisan credit card,kisan credit card scheme,kisan credit card yojana,kisan credit card kya hai,about kissan credit card,kisan credit card online #viralvideo   #pmmodi #bjp #congressparty #priyankagandhi #rahulgandhi    #aap #aapneta #delhiaap Lallu Lal (लल्लू लाल)- हे भैया ��च्ची खबर तो लल्लू लाल ही देंगे..भारत के हर कोने से चुनी गई खबरों का संग्रह। भारत के राजनैतिक, सामाजिक और आर्थिक मुद्दों पर गहराई से जानकारी देना हमारा लक्ष्य है। हम यहाँ पर हर विषय को गहराई से देखते हैं, ताकि भारत के करोड़ों Online User के पास सही खबर मिले।

[sayani78544544]

Farmers’ Protests: Understanding the Swaminathan Committee's recommendations for farmers

The country faces an upside-down situation with the recent farmer's protests. This has been going on for days regarding different issues. One of the needs that has been constant since 2010 is the execution of the Swaminathan Committee's report. 

 From Punjab to Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra to Madhya Pradesh, farmers have been asking for these recommendations to be put into action. 

Krishi Gtyan

In the capital city, there is a heavy presence of protesting farmers calling for guarantees on Minimum Support Price (MSP), the enactment of the Swaminathan Committee report, changes to the Electricity Amendment Bill, and debt relief. 

Krishi Vyapari

The BJP-led central government explains they need to take their time to consult everyone before making a law to ensure MSP for crops. Meanwhile, Rahul Gandhi, from the Congress party, reassures farmers that if his party wins, they'll ensure every farmer gets legal protection for MSP, following the Swaminathan Commission's recommendations. In 2019, after withdrawing the controversial farm laws, the Narendra Modi government acknowledged 200 out of 201 proposals from the Swaminathan Commission, including the MSP demand. 

What is the Swaminathan Commission all about?

The late Mr MS Swaminathan, a well-known agricultural expert and recipient of the Bharat Ratna award, chaired the National Commission on Farmers. This commission issued a total of five reports between December 2004 and 2006. 

 The then government in 2007 sanctioned the National Policy of Farmers, based on the draft. 

The plan involved improving things like land and other resources and providing farmers with good seeds timely. It also included giving them enough money from banks and confirming farmers come under the national safety plan. The commission ensured fair pricing of crops, among other things. 

More insights of the commission's report:

Farmers protesting wanted a promise that crop prices would be fair, following the Swaminathan Commission's idea of the 'C2+50% formula.' This means the government should set prices at least 50% higher than what it costs farmers to grow crops. It includes things like the cost of land and capital ensuring that farmers get enough money. They also wanted the three farm laws cancelled: about trading crops, agreements on prices, and about controlling essential goods.

The panel found that problems like lack of land reforms, water issues, and farmers feeling exhausted by outdated technology were causing them to take their lives. Miserable weather conditions also made things worse. The panel wanted farming to be under both state and central government control to help. They also said corporates shouldn't take over farmland for things other than farming. They suggested rules for selling farmland too.

The commission said farmers should have fair and steady access to water for their fields. They also suggested investing more money seeing that there's enough water for farming, but this plan isn't used anymore.

To increase the productivity of Indian agriculture a group suggested putting more money into things like farm buildings and roads. They also said farmers should take better care of the land by not disturbing it too much. The practice helps the soil stay healthy.

They also talked about giving farmers easier ways to borrow money. They said the government should help make loans cheaper. They thought about Kisan Credit Cards for lady farmers so they could get loans too.

The group suggested making a special fund to help make insurance better for people living in the countryside. This fund would help pay for things to make insurance easier for them.

[poonamranius]

Kisan Credit Card Scheme 2022 : किसानों को समय पर मिलेंगा ऋण, प्राप्त करने के लिए करें पंजीयन

Kisan Credit Card Scheme 2022 : किसानों को समय पर मिलेंगा ऋण, प्राप्त करने के लिए करें पंजीयन

Kisan Credit Card Scheme 2022 किसानों को समय पर मिलेंगा ऋण, प्राप्त करने के लिए करें पंजीयन : भारत के कई हिस्सों में कृषि मुख्य रूप से मानसून पर निर्भर है। कई बार मानसून में देरी होने पर किसानों ( Farmer ) को दोबारा फसल बोनी पड़ती है। कई किसानों के लिए, जो अपने अस्तित्व के लिए पर्याप्त कमाई करने में सक्षम हैं, अतिरिक्त काम एक बड़ा वित्तीय बोझ डालता है। मानसून के अलावा, भारतीय किसानों को भी मदद की…

[technuter]

Amazon announces launch of Kisan Store on Amazon.in

Amazon India launched the Kisan (Farmer) Store, aligning with Government of India's vision of empowering farmers and leveraging technology to transform the farming sector. The store was launched by Shri Narendra Singh Tomar, Hon'ble Minister of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare. With this launch, farmers across the country will have availability of agriculture inputs like seeds, farm tools & accessories, plant protection, nutrition and many other agricultural products at competitive prices, with the added convenience of delivery at their doorstep. Farmers can choose to shop on Amazon.in using any of the five Indian languages including Hindi, Telugu, Kannada, Tamil, and Malayalam. Farmers can also visit any one of the 50,000+ Amazon Easy stores across the country and avail assisted shopping facility. The Amazon Easy store owners will help farmers browse the selection, identify a product they like, create their Amazon accounts, place orders and checkout to buy. Farmers can choose from a selection of thousands of agricultural products from over 20+ brands. This selection is offered by hundreds of Small and Medium Businesses present across the country. Farmers can opt for Cash on Delivery as a payment option along with other digital channels like Net Banking, UPI, Amazon Pay, and Debit & Credit Cards. Addressing at the launch event, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar, Hon'ble Minister of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare said, "It gives me immense pleasure to launch Amazon Kisan Store. I hope this initiative proves to be beneficial for the farmers and the people associated with the farming community to engage the Indian farmers in the modern era of digital economy, increase the productivity of agricultural produce, provide services like logistics industry. Highlighting various government initiatives and schemes, the minister further added, "Prime Minister is constantly paying attention to the development of the agriculture sector. For the progress of farmers, modernity and new technologies are being incorporated in agriculture. The country and the world are well-known with the skill of our agricultural scientist. I hope that this initiative will prove to be successful as well as beneficial and Amazon India will continue to contribute to fulfill Prime Minister's dream of building a self-reliant India." He further added, "Amazon India's effort is welcome in line with many such initiatives of the government. I am hopeful that the facilities like Amazon Kisan Store will align with the progressive policies of the Government of India and improve the quality and quantity of production of the farmers' products, which will definitely increase the income of the farmers. This will give a boost to the agriculture industry and India's position in the global scenario will improve further." Amit Agarwal, Global Senior VP and country head of Amazon India said, "We are excited to partner with Government of India's vision of empowering farmers with technology wherein the rapid penetration of smartphones & internet can help Indian agriculture experience a paradigm shift. The launch of Kisan Store marks our first step to create an ecosystem for farmers that will enable them to seamlessly place orders and get products of their choice delivered to their doorstep at the click of a button" With the launch of Kisan store, Amazon.in is constantly focusing on increasing the selection of choices for farmer's availability, convenience, ease, and speed of delivery across the country. The mission is to make online shopping rewarding and convenient for the farmers. Read the full article

[brajeshupadhyay]

Coronavirus Outbreak LIVE Updates: Maharashtra sees highest single-day jump with 1,602 new COVID-19 cases; total rises to 27,524

08:26 (IST)

Coronavirus Outbreak in India Latest Updates

Air India to open bookings for select repatriation flights from Delhi 

Air India is taking bookings for about 30 outbound flights — mainly from Delhi — for some destinations in the US, Canada, UK, Paris, Frankfurt, Singapore and Australia. 

These flights will operate from 17-28 May as part of the Vande Bharat Mission-II to fly back Indians stranded abroad.

08:05 (IST)

Coronavirus Outbreak in Uttar Pradesh Latest Updates

In Photos: Delhi migrant workers walk home to different parts in UP 

Delhi: Migrant workers reach Delhi-Ghazipur border to return to their homes in different parts of Uttar Pradesh. One of them,Rita,says "My home is in Hardoi. My landlord has kicked me out as I couldn't pay rent. My children are young but there's no other option but to walk home." pic.twitter.com/2dPw1Gh5ZJ

— ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2020

08:02 (IST)

Coronavirus Outbreak in India Latest Updates

Flight attendants to wear face shield, gown and mask when airlines resume ops

Cabin crew members of Indian airlines will have personal protective equipment (PPE) like face shields, gowns and masks as part of their attire on commercial passenger flights when they resume operations, industry sources said.

Airlines such as IndiGo, Air India, Vistara and AirAsia India have decided to go with the new attire in order to ensure safety of cabin crew members as they are in close proximity to passengers during flights, the sources said.

"While AirAsia India will have face shields, masks, gowns, aprons and gloves as a part of their PPE attire for cabin crew members, Vistara would have a lap gown, face mask and face shield as the new dress code," a source said.

07:44 (IST)

Coronavirus Outbreak in Maharashtra Latest Updates

25 new COVID-19 deaths in Mumbai 

Of the 44 deaths recorded in Maharashtra, 25 COVID-19 patients succumbed to the infection in financial capital Mumbai, 10 in Navi Mumbai, five in Pune, two in Aurangabad and one person each died in Panvel and Kalyan.

07:36 (IST)

Coronavirus Outbreak in Maharashtra Latest Updates

Maharashtra registers highest single-day jump with 1,602 new COVID-19 cases

Maharashtra on Thursday reported 1,602 fresh COVID-19 cases, the highest single-day spike so far, taking the state’s overall count to 27,524, according to state health department data.

With 44 deaths registered today, the death toll in Maharashtra due to the contagious coronavirus disease has now breached the 1000-mark and stands at 1019.

07:32 (IST)

Coronavirus Outbreak in India Latest Updates

India reports second-highest spike in COVID-19 cases with total inching towards 80,000

In the biggest surge in COVID-19 infections in Delhi, 472 people tested positive for the novel coronavirus on Thursday, as India's total neared 80,000 with 3,995 fresh cases reported, the second-highest rise in a day.

While this was the fifth consecutive day of over 3,500 cases being added to the country's overall count, the growth rate of the infection has gradually decreased during this period. 

07:23 (IST)

Coronavirus Outbreak in India Latest Updates 

Centre to provide free food grain to migrants, concessional credit to farmers 

The government on Thursday announced a Rs 3.16 lakh crore package of free foodgrains for migrant workers, concessional credit to farmers and working capital loan for street vendors as part of the second tranche of fiscal stimulus to heal an economy hit hard by coronavirus lockdown.

At a news conference, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said 8 crore migrant workers will get 5 kgs of grains and 1 kg of pulses free for two months, while 50 lakh street vendors rendered jobless by the lockdown would be given a working capital loan of Rs 10,000 each.

Coronavirus Outbreak LATEST Updates: Maharashtra on Thursday reported 1,602 fresh COVID-19 cases, the highest single-day spike so far, taking the state’s overall count to 27,524, according to state health department data.

With 44 deaths registered today, the death toll in Maharashtra due to the contagious coronavirus disease has now breached the 1000-mark and stands at 1019.

The number of deaths from COVID-19 disease rose to 2,549 and the number of cases climbed to 78,003 on Thursday, registering an increase of 134 fatalities and 3,722 infections in the last 24 hours since Wednesday 8 am, according to the Union Health Ministry.

The number of active COVID-19 cases stood at 49,219 while 26,234 people have recovered and one patient has migrated, it said.

Meanwhile, Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman addressed the media for the second day in a row, and spelt out more details of the Centre's Rs 20-lakh-crore special economic package. She said the second tranche of economic stimulus package will be for the benefit of migrant workers, street vendors and small farmers.

FM announces concessional credit for farmers, free food grains for migrants

Sitharaman on Thursday announced a Rs 3.16 lakh crore package comprising free food grains for migrant workers, Rs 2 lakh crore concessional credit to small farmers and working capital loan for street vendors in a bid to help those hit hard by the nationwide lockdown.

Together with the Wednesday's Rs 5.94 lakh crore package that mostly comprised off-budget credit line and support to small businesses, shadow banks and electricity distribution companies, the government has unveiled over Rs 9 lakh crore plans out of the Rs 20 lakh crore package announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to heal Asia's third-largest economy that was seen hurtling towards its first full-year contraction in four decades.

Sitharaman said each of the eight crore migrant workers, who had to leave their workplaces after imposition of the lockdown on 25 March, will get 5 kg grains and 1 kg pulses free for two months.

Also, 50 lakh street vendors who were rendered jobless as the government ordered stay-at-home would be given a working capital loan of Rs 10,000 each to restart their businesses.

For farmers, the finance minister announced a Rs 2 lakh crore concessional credit through Kisan Credits Cards, benefiting as many as 2.5 crore farmers.

However, the Congress criticised the economic package as a "jumla" saying it has so far been way short of what Prime Minister Narendra Modi had promised and the entire press conference of the finance minister was classic display of "arrogance, ignorance and insensitivity".

Senior spokesperson of the party Anand Sharma said the country believed that Modi was serious when he made the "dramatic" announcement of giving 10 percent of the GDP as a package to revive the economy and support workers and migrant labourers and that expectations had soared.

"The finance minister's announcement dashed all hopes," he said.

State-wise deaths and cases

India has reported a total 134 deaths deaths since Wednesday morning, of which 54 were in Maharashtra, 29 in Gujarat, 20 in Delhi, 9 in West Bengal, seven in Madhya Pradesh, four in Rajasthan, three in Tamil Nadu, two each in Telangana and Karnataka and one each in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir and Uttar Pradesh.

Of the 2,549 fatalities, Maharashtra tops the tally with 975 fatalities, Gujarat comes second with 566 deaths, followed by Madhya Pradesh at 232, West Bengal at 207, Rajasthan at 121, Delhi at 106, Uttar Pradesh at 83, Tamil Nadu at 64 and Andhra Pradesh at 47.

The toll reached 34 in Telangana, 33 in Karnataka and 32 in Punjab on Thursday. Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir have reported 11 fatalities each due to the respiratory disease while Bihar has registered seven and Kerala has reported four deaths.

Jharkhand, Chandigarh and Odisha have recorded three COVID-19 fatalities each while Himachal Pradesh and Assam have reported two deaths each. Meghalaya, Uttarakhand and Puducherry have reported one fatality each, according to the ministry data.

According to the ministry's website, more than 70 percent of the deaths are due to comorbidities.

According to the health ministry data updated in the morning, the highest number of confirmed cases in the country is from Maharashtra at 25,922, followed by Gujarat at 9,267, Tamil Nadu at 9,227, Delhi at 7,998, Rajasthan at 4,328, Madhya Pradesh at 4,173 and Uttar Pradesh at 3,729.

The number of COVID-19 cases has gone up to 2,290 in West Bengal, 2,137 in Andhra Pradesh and 1,924 in Punjab. It has risen to 1,367 in Telangana, 971 in Jammu and Kashmir, 959 in Karnataka, 940 in Bihar and 793 in Haryana.

Kerala has reported 534 coronavirus cases so far, while Odisha has 538 cases. A total of 187 people have been infected with the virus in Chandigarh and 173 in Jharkhand.

Tripura has reported 155 cases, Assam has 80 cases, Uttarakhand has 72, Himachal Pradesh has 66 cases, Chhattisgarh has 59 and Ladakh has registered 43 cases so far.

Thirty-three COVID-19 cases have been reported from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Meghalaya and Puducherry have registered 13 cases each while Goa has seven COVID-19 cases.

Manipur has two cases. Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh and Dadra and Nagar Haveli have reported a case each till now.

Doubling time has slowed to 13.9 days, says health minister

The doubling time of novel coronavirus cases has slowed to 13.9 days in the last three days and India now has a capacity of 1,00,000 COVID-19 tests per day with nearly 20 lakh carried out till now, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said.

Vardhan, who visited the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) in Delhi and dedicated a COBAS 6800 testing machine to the nation, said 14 states and Union territories have not reported any case of the novel coronavirus in the last 24 hours.

These states and UTs are Gujarat, Telangana, Jharkhand, Chandigarh, Chhattisgarh, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Arunachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Goa, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Puducherry.

Also, Daman and Diu, Sikkim, Nagaland and Lakshadweep have not reported any cases so far.

Meanwhile, the government has decided to use one time RT-PCR based pooled sampling for COVID-19 screening of migrant workers and returnees from abroad kept in quarantine facilities.

The same testing technique would also be used for monitoring in green zone districts which have reported no cases till now or in the last 21 days, the health ministry said while issuing "Guidelines for RT-PCR based pooled sampling for migrants/returnees from abroad/green zones".

806 shramik special trains brought into operation till now, says Railways

The Railways has operated 806 shramik special trains since 1 May, ferrying home 10 lakh migrant workers who were stranded in various parts of the country due to the coronavirus-triggered lockdown, officials said on Thursday. Of these, Uttar Pradesh received the maximum number of trains followed by Bihar, they said.

"As on 14 May, 2020, a total of 806 'shramik special' trains have been operationalised from various states across the country. More than 10 lakh passengers have reached their home state.

"Trains are being run by the Railways only after concurrence is given both by the state which is sending the passengers and the state which is receiving them," the railways said.

Out of the 806 trains which have been operated so far, 166 are in transit while 640 have terminated at various stations. Sixty-three more are in the pipeline, an official said.

These 806 trains were terminated in various states like Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Mizoram, Odisha, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and West Bengal.

With inputs from PTI

via Blogger https://ift.tt/2Z6WiuS

[soorasaab]

ICICI Bank on Tuesday announced a new mobile banking app that is aimed at rural customers in an effort to promote rural digitisation. The app, called Mera iMobile, will allow users in rural areas to access banking services as well as information on agri services. The app can also be used by non-ICICI Bank customers as well.

The Mera iMobile app provides around 135 services, available in English and 11 Indian languages including Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Odia, Punjabi, Tamil, and Telugu. Some of the services that can be availed include Kisan Credit Card, Gold Loan, Farm Equipment Loan and Loans to Self-Help Groups (SHGs). The main aim of these services is to save time and cost to personally visit the branch. Around 14 frequently used banking services can also be accessed without mobile Internet connectivity.

Additionally, the Mera iMobile app is also the first to provide agriculture related information like crop-wise mandi prices of nearly 230 crop varieties across 460 mandis. The app also offers taluka-wise weather updates over 300 districts so that farmers can plan out their sowing and harvesting activities according to the weather.

Chanda Kochhar, MD & CEO, ICICI Bank said, "With the new 'Mera iMobile', we will offer our rural and semi-urban customers a unique and unparalleled experience in their interactions with the bank. 'Mera iMobile' is a result of extensive research and has evolved into the country's first comprehensive offering for rural customers on smartphone with 135 services and in eleven Indian languages. It enables any user, even if they are not ICICI Bank customers, to download the app and get access to agri-related advisory on mandi prices and weather. These aid in saving time and effort of travel to the branch and the mandi for various services. We believe this app will resonate with the needs of the rural customers and aim to have over half a million downloads in the next six months."

Since the app is specifically designed for rural and semi-urban areas, ICICI Bank has made sure that app is lightweight so that it can be downloaded and used even under low Internet speeds. Furthermore, the Bank will introduce 'Wi-Fi enabled posters' across 700 rural and semi-urban branches to help users download the app.

The Mera iMobile app can be downloaded from Google Play store for Android users. The Bank also says that new app is a marked improvement over the SMS Banking services available in feature phones. ICICI Bank says it expects to reach over half a million downloads in the next six months. The Bank also aims to transform 100 villages into 'ICICI Digital Villages' in the coming days to promote India's recent shift towards embracing digital transactions.

#SooraSaab #Soora #Facebook #News #Gadgets #Technology #sports #Automobile #blog #youtube #smartphones #top #Tumblr

[indianeconomynews-blog]

Agriculture: Is Govt’s optimism realistic?

JAYSHREE SENGUPTA

AGRICULTURE

APMC

BUDGET

DEMONETISATION

MIN WAGES

There has been a lot of speculation about the extent of damage due to demonetisation on agriculture. Small farmers suffered most because cash in hand crunch. They were unable to pay for inputs and farm labour besides experiencing low demand for their perishable produce for some time. The latest data from government’s agricultural ministry, however, shows that demonetisation did not have an adverse impact on agricultural production. This year’s rabi crop seems to have got the highest acreage in five years. Based on the occurrence of good monsoons, the ministry and the Economic Survey 2017 has raised the projected agricultural growth for 2016-17 at 4.1 percent. According to government sources, agriculture seems to have escaped the scars of demonetisation experienced in the other sectors. Seeds were allowed to be bought by banned Rs 500 notes and farmers were allowed to withdraw up to Rs 25000 per week to meet their expenses related to agricultural production.  Also much (70 per cent) of the required seeds were already available with farmers for Rabi sowing.

Economic Survey 2017

The Economic Survey 2016-17 predicts a record food production at 135 million tonnes compared to 124.1 million tonnes in 2015-16 for the kharif crop. The area sown is 3.5 percent higher than last year. The area sown under rabi crop as on January 13,

  2017, stood at 616.2 lakh hectares which  is 5.9 per cent higher than in the previous year. But, on the whole, it is difficult to predict the size of the crop because estimates vary. The government’s advanced estimates often tend to be over optimistic than the private estimates and the real output can yet be quite different from the two. Thus reliable government statistics are needed which will give farmers an indication of the total crop production, acreage and its projected market demand. More accurate estimates can help farmers to plant their crops judiciously in order to get best returns.

Read Also | Demonetisation

The problems of agriculture, however, cannot be wished away. The prices of vegetables fell sharply after demonetisation and tomatoes were strewn on roads because farmers were unable to sell them. Agriculture is a problem ridden sector and 50 percent of the population depends on it while the contribution of agriculture to GDP is only 14 percent. There is a constant exodus of people leaving agriculture to work in urban areas as the income of households is not enough to sustain all the family members on small pieces of land averaging 1.15 hectares. To some extent, out-migration has to be encouraged to make agricultural rural households have higher incomes. Migrants send money home and it helps in health and education of the family. Higher rural income is vital for propping up demand for manufactures. In recent years, people have been leaving due to distressed agricultural conditions. Agriculture growth rate was 1.2 percent in 2015-16 and it shrank by 0.2 per cent in 2014-15 due to drought. This year even if a bumper crop is expected, it could spell danger for farmers. They don’t have adequate storage and holding capacity and are themselves not able to dispose their crop directly to buyers, except in the case of contract farming. They have to go through the Agricultural Marketing Committee and commission agents as in the case of Punjab and therefore price realisation is not remunerative as there are many deductions from the prices paid to them. Agricultural marketing needs close attention and the middlemen’s grip has to be weakened. A contract farming Act along the lines of the one in Punjab is being drawn. A fresh draft of APMC Act is also being proposed by Niti Ayog in 3 months. Direct purchase from farmers by private players and direct sale by farmers to consumers is being planned. Also there will be a single trader licence as well as single point levy of taxes in mandis (market places).

Read Also | Policy imperatives for India’s small farmers

Regarding agricultural outlook, some States are facing immense problems. While monsoons may have been normal for most of India, Tamil Nadu is experiencing one of the worst droughts. Many farmers have committed suicide by consuming pesticides after witnessing their dried up crops. Irrigation is another big problem that has not been solved. Around 65 per cent of agriculture is rain-fed and not irrigated through a network of canals. Major public works and investments are needed in irrigation, especially in drought prone areas. The use of drip irrigation and sprinklers are needed more to conserve water because water is going to be a big problem in the future for agriculture and for domestic consumption. Many State governments ( Punjab and Haryana) have tried to solve the problem of irrigation by granting free electricity which helps gensets to pump water. But as is now well known, Punjab’s water table is sinking lower and lower which is a dangerous situation. In Tamil Nadu, small and marginal farmers are in deep distress and they are mostly heavily indebted. Farm credit to small farmers is very important, but not much progress has been made in this direction, except Kisan credit cards. Farmers mostly borrow for consumption purposes for which only money lenders are willing to lend at exorbitant interest rates. Another trend has been farmers leaving their land to tenants to farm and going off to towns. The tenants do not have access to credit and their tenancy is problematic in most cases. There has to be a move to make credit available to tenant farmers otherwise they remain extremely vulnerable. The Niti Ayog is also trying to change the land leasing and tenancy law. Low productivity remains another big problem and if you look at farmers elsewhere in the world, specially developed countries, productivity is much higher and it is due to not only better quality inputs like seeds and water but also mechanisation. A recent indicator that agricultural outlook has improved is reflected in a higher demand for tractors this year. Unfortunately in small and marginal farms, it is not always viable to use tractors but sharing them can help between a few farmers who can form a cooperative. Actually farming cooperatives is a very good idea which China has been practicing with great success in the past. One surprising aspect of demonetisation on agriculture has been that rural wages rose by 7.3 percent in November due to the hike in minimum wages announced by the central government. This will push up the much needed rural demand for manufactures.

AGRICULTURE

ECONOMY AND GROWTH

INDIAN ECONOMY

[brajeshupadhyay]

08:26 (IST) Coronavirus Outbreak in India Latest Updates Air India to open bookings for select repatriation flights from Delhi  Air India is taking bookings for about 30 outbound flights — mainly from Delhi — for some destinations in the US, Canada, UK, Paris, Frankfurt, Singapore and Australia.  These flights will operate from 17-28 May as part of the Vande Bharat Mission-II to fly back Indians stranded abroad. 08:05 (IST) Coronavirus Outbreak in Uttar Pradesh Latest Updates In Photos: Delhi migrant workers walk home to different parts in UP  Delhi: Migrant workers reach Delhi-Ghazipur border to return to their homes in different parts of Uttar Pradesh. One of them,Rita,says "My home is in Hardoi. My landlord has kicked me out as I couldn't pay rent. My children are young but there's no other option but to walk home." pic.twitter.com/2dPw1Gh5ZJ — ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2020 08:02 (IST) Coronavirus Outbreak in India Latest Updates Flight attendants to wear face shield, gown and mask when airlines resume ops Cabin crew members of Indian airlines will have personal protective equipment (PPE) like face shields, gowns and masks as part of their attire on commercial passenger flights when they resume operations, industry sources said. Airlines such as IndiGo, Air India, Vistara and AirAsia India have decided to go with the new attire in order to ensure safety of cabin crew members as they are in close proximity to passengers during flights, the sources said. "While AirAsia India will have face shields, masks, gowns, aprons and gloves as a part of their PPE attire for cabin crew members, Vistara would have a lap gown, face mask and face shield as the new dress code," a source said. 07:44 (IST) Coronavirus Outbreak in Maharashtra Latest Updates 25 new COVID-19 deaths in Mumbai  Of the 44 deaths recorded in Maharashtra, 25 COVID-19 patients succumbed to the infection in financial capital Mumbai, 10 in Navi Mumbai, five in Pune, two in Aurangabad and one person each died in Panvel and Kalyan. 07:36 (IST) Coronavirus Outbreak in Maharashtra Latest Updates Maharashtra registers highest single-day jump with 1,602 new COVID-19 cases Maharashtra on Thursday reported 1,602 fresh COVID-19 cases, the highest single-day spike so far, taking the state’s overall count to 27,524, according to state health department data. With 44 deaths registered today, the death toll in Maharashtra due to the contagious coronavirus disease has now breached the 1000-mark and stands at 1019. 07:32 (IST) Coronavirus Outbreak in India Latest Updates India reports second-highest spike in COVID-19 cases with total inching towards 80,000 In the biggest surge in COVID-19 infections in Delhi, 472 people tested positive for the novel coronavirus on Thursday, as India's total neared 80,000 with 3,995 fresh cases reported, the second-highest rise in a day. While this was the fifth consecutive day of over 3,500 cases being added to the country's overall count, the growth rate of the infection has gradually decreased during this period.  07:23 (IST) Coronavirus Outbreak in India Latest Updates  Centre to provide free food grain to migrants, concessional credit to farmers  The government on Thursday announced a Rs 3.16 lakh crore package of free foodgrains for migrant workers, concessional credit to farmers and working capital loan for street vendors as part of the second tranche of fiscal stimulus to heal an economy hit hard by coronavirus lockdown. At a news conference, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said 8 crore migrant workers will get 5 kgs of grains and 1 kg of pulses free for two months, while 50 lakh street vendors rendered jobless by the lockdown would be given a working capital loan of Rs 10,000 each. Coronavirus Outbreak LATEST Updates: Maharashtra on Thursday reported 1,602 fresh COVID-19 cases, the highest single-day spike so far, taking the state’s overall count to 27,524, according to state health department data. With 44 deaths registered today, the death toll in Maharashtra due to the contagious coronavirus disease has now breached the 1000-mark and stands at 1019. The number of deaths from COVID-19 disease rose to 2,549 and the number of cases climbed to 78,003 on Thursday, registering an increase of 134 fatalities and 3,722 infections in the last 24 hours since Wednesday 8 am, according to the Union Health Ministry. The number of active COVID-19 cases stood at 49,219 while 26,234 people have recovered and one patient has migrated, it said. Meanwhile, Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman addressed the media for the second day in a row, and spelt out more details of the Centre's Rs 20-lakh-crore special economic package. She said the second tranche of economic stimulus package will be for the benefit of migrant workers, street vendors and small farmers. FM announces concessional credit for farmers, free food grains for migrants Sitharaman on Thursday announced a Rs 3.16 lakh crore package comprising free food grains for migrant workers, Rs 2 lakh crore concessional credit to small farmers and working capital loan for street vendors in a bid to help those hit hard by the nationwide lockdown. Together with the Wednesday's Rs 5.94 lakh crore package that mostly comprised off-budget credit line and support to small businesses, shadow banks and electricity distribution companies, the government has unveiled over Rs 9 lakh crore plans out of the Rs 20 lakh crore package announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to heal Asia's third-largest economy that was seen hurtling towards its first full-year contraction in four decades. Sitharaman said each of the eight crore migrant workers, who had to leave their workplaces after imposition of the lockdown on 25 March, will get 5 kg grains and 1 kg pulses free for two months. Also, 50 lakh street vendors who were rendered jobless as the government ordered stay-at-home would be given a working capital loan of Rs 10,000 each to restart their businesses. For farmers, the finance minister announced a Rs 2 lakh crore concessional credit through Kisan Credits Cards, benefiting as many as 2.5 crore farmers. However, the Congress criticised the economic package as a "jumla" saying it has so far been way short of what Prime Minister Narendra Modi had promised and the entire press conference of the finance minister was classic display of "arrogance, ignorance and insensitivity". Senior spokesperson of the party Anand Sharma said the country believed that Modi was serious when he made the "dramatic" announcement of giving 10 percent of the GDP as a package to revive the economy and support workers and migrant labourers and that expectations had soared. "The finance minister's announcement dashed all hopes," he said. State-wise deaths and cases India has reported a total 134 deaths deaths since Wednesday morning, of which 54 were in Maharashtra, 29 in Gujarat, 20 in Delhi, 9 in West Bengal, seven in Madhya Pradesh, four in Rajasthan, three in Tamil Nadu, two each in Telangana and Karnataka and one each in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir and Uttar Pradesh. Of the 2,549 fatalities, Maharashtra tops the tally with 975 fatalities, Gujarat comes second with 566 deaths, followed by Madhya Pradesh at 232, West Bengal at 207, Rajasthan at 121, Delhi at 106, Uttar Pradesh at 83, Tamil Nadu at 64 and Andhra Pradesh at 47. The toll reached 34 in Telangana, 33 in Karnataka and 32 in Punjab on Thursday. Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir have reported 11 fatalities each due to the respiratory disease while Bihar has registered seven and Kerala has reported four deaths. Jharkhand, Chandigarh and Odisha have recorded three COVID-19 fatalities each while Himachal Pradesh and Assam have reported two deaths each. Meghalaya, Uttarakhand and Puducherry have reported one fatality each, according to the ministry data. According to the ministry's website, more than 70 percent of the deaths are due to comorbidities. According to the health ministry data updated in the morning, the highest number of confirmed cases in the country is from Maharashtra at 25,922, followed by Gujarat at 9,267, Tamil Nadu at 9,227, Delhi at 7,998, Rajasthan at 4,328, Madhya Pradesh at 4,173 and Uttar Pradesh at 3,729. The number of COVID-19 cases has gone up to 2,290 in West Bengal, 2,137 in Andhra Pradesh and 1,924 in Punjab. It has risen to 1,367 in Telangana, 971 in Jammu and Kashmir, 959 in Karnataka, 940 in Bihar and 793 in Haryana. Kerala has reported 534 coronavirus cases so far, while Odisha has 538 cases. A total of 187 people have been infected with the virus in Chandigarh and 173 in Jharkhand. Tripura has reported 155 cases, Assam has 80 cases, Uttarakhand has 72, Himachal Pradesh has 66 cases, Chhattisgarh has 59 and Ladakh has registered 43 cases so far. Thirty-three COVID-19 cases have been reported from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Meghalaya and Puducherry have registered 13 cases each while Goa has seven COVID-19 cases. Manipur has two cases. Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh and Dadra and Nagar Haveli have reported a case each till now. Doubling time has slowed to 13.9 days, says health minister The doubling time of novel coronavirus cases has slowed to 13.9 days in the last three days and India now has a capacity of 1,00,000 COVID-19 tests per day with nearly 20 lakh carried out till now, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said. Vardhan, who visited the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) in Delhi and dedicated a COBAS 6800 testing machine to the nation, said 14 states and Union territories have not reported any case of the novel coronavirus in the last 24 hours. These states and UTs are Gujarat, Telangana, Jharkhand, Chandigarh, Chhattisgarh, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Arunachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Goa, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Puducherry. Also, Daman and Diu, Sikkim, Nagaland and Lakshadweep have not reported any cases so far. Meanwhile, the government has decided to use one time RT-PCR based pooled sampling for COVID-19 screening of migrant workers and returnees from abroad kept in quarantine facilities. The same testing technique would also be used for monitoring in green zone districts which have reported no cases till now or in the last 21 days, the health ministry said while issuing "Guidelines for RT-PCR based pooled sampling for migrants/returnees from abroad/green zones". 806 shramik special trains brought into operation till now, says Railways The Railways has operated 806 shramik special trains since 1 May, ferrying home 10 lakh migrant workers who were stranded in various parts of the country due to the coronavirus-triggered lockdown, officials said on Thursday. Of these, Uttar Pradesh received the maximum number of trains followed by Bihar, they said. "As on 14 May, 2020, a total of 806 'shramik special' trains have been operationalised from various states across the country. More than 10 lakh passengers have reached their home state. "Trains are being run by the Railways only after concurrence is given both by the state which is sending the passengers and the state which is receiving them," the railways said. Out of the 806 trains which have been operated so far, 166 are in transit while 640 have terminated at various stations. Sixty-three more are in the pipeline, an official said. These 806 trains were terminated in various states like Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Mizoram, Odisha, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and West Bengal. With inputs from PTI

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