Kerala has dominated the National Plant Genome Saviour Awards for the second successive year by grabbing the community award as well as the newly-introduced individual awards.

While the Plant Genome saviour Community Award for 2012 was bagged by Palakkad Rice Farming Community, Ciby Kallingal of Pattikkad, Thrissur, and N Vasavan of Pachapoika in Kannur, have won the individual awards for plant genome conservation.

Siddaramaiah announces implementation of several promises in manifesto

Hours after being sworn in as Chief Minister, Siddaramaiah announced the implementation of several promises made in the Congress poll manifesto, including providing rice at Re. 1 a kg to poor families through the Public Distribution System from June 1.

Law ministry asked if ordinance can protect entitlement envisaged in food bill

The UPA government will write to chief ministers soon, urging them to be ready with enhanced grain storage facilities. The decision to build the political tempo for the national food security scheme comes a day after the budget session ended without passing the UPA government’s ambitious bill.

After almost a decade, the Jharkhand state seed subcommittee released nine high-yielding varieties of rice, groundnut, soya bean, sugarcane and chickpea crops, following a notification by the Gover

Team visits delta regions in Tiruchi, Thanjavur, and Tiruvarur districts

Farmers representatives sought to impress upon the Central team that toured the delta districts on Tuesday the need for sanctioning relief quickly to all farmers as the drought has had a severe impact. Several farmers also insisted that the Centre sanction the full quantum of compensation sought by the State (which has sought about Rs.19,665 crore as drought relief).

Nobel laureate upset at disruption of Parliament by Opposition

Nobel laureate Amartya Sen is upset that disruption of Parliament has held up passage of important legislation including the UPA’s flagship National Food Security Bill. He feels that if the Bill is not passed — even if without amendments — several hundred children will go hungry or die from under-nutrition. The Bill has been criticised as “limited” and “targeted” by activists such as Jean Dreze and Kavita Srivastava, who on Monday shared the dais with Prof. Sen to advocate its passage albeit with changes.

Of the total amount, Rs 3,500 cr will be disbursed in the khariff season and another Rs 2,500 cr during rabi plantation

Naveen Patnaik-led Biju Janata Dal (BJD) government on Monday announced to provide Rs 6,000 crore loan to the farmers at two percent interest rate through co-operative societies. This comes close on the heels of earlier scheme to provide free mobile handsets and health insurance to farmers, marking the overdrive by the ruling dispension to woo a prominent section of voters in the run up to the elections.

The Centre on Friday revised its foodgrains production estimate upwards by 5.22 million tonnes for 2012-13 over earlier expectation on account of higher output of rice, wheat and coarse cereals.

The total foodgrains output is now estimated at 255.36 million tonnes with wheat production pegged at 93.62 million tonnes and rice at 104.22 million tonnes.

Compensation to be credited to their savings bank accounts

The State government has sanctioned Rs.60 crore for the distribution of compensation to 1.28 lakh farmers who suffered more than 50 per cent crop loss due to drought, according to Collector N.Venkatachalam. Presiding over a special drought relief meeting at the Collectorate here on Thursday, he said crops on 1.83 lakh acres, including paddy covering 9,919 acres, were damaged.