Farmers in Odisha will now reap the benefits of crop insurance coverage free of cost for up to five acres under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) for the Kharif 2026 season, with beneficiaries required to pay only Re 1 per plot towards account validation.
Punjab's canal expansion plans have come under the spotlight as widespread power cuts disrupt paddy transplantation, triggering farmer protests across the state.
Union Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Tuesday said that eastern India, enriched with fertile soil, abundant water resources, and a favourable climate, is poised to become the growth engine of India’s next agricultural revolution.
A sharp increase in petrol and diesel prices in Punjab has raised concerns over rising transport costs, agricultural expenses and a possible spike in essential commodity prices.
The proposed Industrial Model Township (IMT) in Naraingarh moved a step closer on Wednesday after farmers from the area agreed to offer nearly 450 acres of land at government-fixed rates, giving a fillip to Haryana’s industrial expansion plans.
“It is Rahul Gandhi’s policy to lie, lie aloud repeatedly. He has started a new tradition of telling lies every day. But the people have identified him as a lie-manufacturing factory,” Shah fumed while addressing a rally in Karaikal in the poll-bound Union Territory of Puducherry.
He emphasized that these challenges cannot be addressed through conventional methods alone, but require innovation, technology and strong institutional financial support.
He said, “This model has the capacity not just to double but to ‘multiply manifold’ the income of sugarcane farmers.”
"During the decade from financial year 2016 to 2025, the agricultural sector posted a decadal growth rate of 4.45 per cent, the highest compared to previous decades," Chouhan said while reacting to the Economic Survey.
''As landholdings are continuously shrinking, the focus should not be only on acreage but on increasing 'per-hectare productivity,'" he pointed out.
