Agriculture & Food GS3
- Stubble fires return each October as a water law and assured procurement squeeze farmers
9 October 2026 New Delhi, October 9. In The Hindu, economist C.S.C. Sekhar (Institute of Economic Growth) explains why stubble burning recurs. Punjab and Haryana…
- Up to 30% of India’s Cotton Area Grows Illegal Herbicide-Tolerant Bt Hybrids, Study Finds
8 October 2026 New Delhi. Of the 114.8 lakh hectares sown to cotton in 2025-26, an estimated 26.2–29 lakh hectares (24–30%) carried hybrids with unapproved…
- Andhra Pradesh Declares Drought in 388 of 688 Mandals a Month Before the Deadline
7 October 2026 Andhra Pradesh. An order issued on October 1 by the Revenue (Disaster Management) Department declares 388 of the State’s 688 mandals (sub-district…
- Maharashtra Starts Woman Farmer Certificates as Drought Loads Women Labourers With Water and Debt
3 October 2026 Jalna, Beed and Dharashiv, Maharashtra. The State began issuing Woman Farmer Certificates on October 2 under the Maharashtra Women Farmers…
- G20 Trade Ministers Back Statement on “Weaponisation of Food” as India Defends Public Stockholding
2 October 2026 Milwaukee, Wisconsin. G20 trade ministers, meeting under the U.S. presidency, reached consensus on the “G20 Statement on the Weaponization of Food…
- Maharashtra Declares Drought in 265 of 358 Talukas as Cane Cutters Leave Months Early in Debt
1 October 2026 Mumbai. Maharashtra declared drought on September 26 in 265 of its 358 talukas — 74% of the State — across 32 districts and began “Trigger-1” relief,…
- Cabinet Holds Wheat MSP Nearly Flat at ₹2,610 and Loads Rabi Increases on Oilseeds and Pulses
1 October 2026 New Delhi. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on Wednesday, September 30, raised the Minimum Support Prices (MSP) — the floor price at…
- Centre Sets 2026-27 Foodgrain Target at 373.93 Million Tonnes, Below Last Year’s Harvest
30 September 2026 New Delhi. Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said on Tuesday, September 29, after a two-day national conference on Rabi crops, that…
- FAO Says India Leads on Post-Harvest Loss Data but Lags on Retail and Household Waste
29 September 2026 New Delhi. September 29 is the International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste, and in The Hindu Konda Reddy Chavva, Officer-in-Charge of the…
- Pulse Prices Jump Up to 10% in a Month as Drought Threatens Rabi Sowing
29 September 2026 Pune and New Delhi. Pulse prices are climbing even though the government has acted to cool cooking oil and sugar, The Economic Times reports; new…
- Monsoon 11.9% Below Normal, El Niño Strengthening: Editorial Urges Duty-Free Pulses After Edible Oil Duty Cut
28 September 2026 New Delhi. India’s rainfall during the southwest monsoon from June 1 to September 27 has been 11.9% below the historical average, and 23 of the…
- Red-Rot-Resistant Co-20016 Cleared for Release as UP Sugar Output Falls from 126.4 to 89.5 Lakh Tonnes
28 September 2026 New Delhi. Uttar Pradesh, India’s largest sugarcane-growing State, has seen its sugar output fall from 126.4 lakh tonnes to 89.5 lakh tonnes between…
- Grain Stocks Far Above Buffer as Rice Harvest Falls 6.5%: Two Op-eds Split on Keeping Exports Open
26 September 2026 New Delhi. Two opinion pieces take opposite positions on grain exports in a drought year. In The Indian Express, Shweta Saini and Vansh Oberoi of…
- Supreme Court Gives Karnataka a Week to Answer Tamil Nadu’s 20-tmc ft Cauvery Shortfall Plea
25 September 2026 New Delhi. The Supreme Court on Thursday, September 24, sought Karnataka’s response to a plea by Tamil Nadu that it is suffering from a shortfall of…
- Maharashtra Must Wait Till October 5 for Drought Assessment as Fadnavis Warns of ‘Worse Than 1972’
24 September 2026 Mumbai. Maharashtra cannot yet declare the drought its Chief Minister now compares to 1972, because the rules that release Central money set the…
- Centre Halves Duty on Crude Palm and Soybean Oil to 5%, Scraps Crude Sunflower Oil Duty
24 September 2026 New Delhi. The Centre has cut the basic customs duty on crude and refined edible oils, including palm, soybean and sunflower oil, with effect from…
- Farmers Get 57.8% of the Food Rupee Spent at Home, Only 8.4% When Eating Out
23 September 2026 New Delhi. In an article in The Indian Express, Sudha Narayanan and Barun Deb Pal of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), India,…
- Punjab Draws 152% of Its Extractable Groundwater, and Falling Water Tables Shift Wealth to Large Farmers
23 September 2026 Punjab. An editorial in The Hindu on Wednesday, titled ‘Water wealth’, argues that groundwater exploitation in Punjab now disincentivises small…
- Maharashtra’s Women Farmers’ Law Recognises Landless Women as Farmers Through a ‘Woman Farmer Certificate’
23 September 2026 Maharashtra. In July 2026, Maharashtra passed the Women Farmers’ Empowerment Bill, which grants women independent recognition as farmers irrespective…
- India–New Zealand FTA Enters Force on October 20, Keeping Dairy Out and Quota-Fencing Apples, Kiwis, Honey
22 September 2026 New Delhi. The Free Trade Agreement between India and New Zealand, signed in New Delhi on April 27, will come into force on October 20, Vijaya…
- Fertiliser Output Shrinks 12.4% in August, Sixth Straight Fall, as Gas and Sulphur Shortages Bite
22 September 2026 New Delhi. Fertiliser production contracted for the sixth consecutive month, declining 12.4% year-on-year in August compared with an 8% contraction…
- Maharashtra Readies a 100% Drought Declaration as Rain Stays Away for 20 Days in 83 Talukas
22 September 2026 Mumbai. Maharashtra Cooperation Minister Babasaheb Patil said on Monday, September 21, that the BJP-led Mahayuti government will soon declare “100%…
- Rising Sugar Prices Revive Food-Versus-Fuel Question in India's Ethanol Feedstock Mix
21 September 2026 NEW DELHI. The price of sugar has risen as part of a normal cycle tied to sugar output, but it comes at a time when there is a push to produce…
- Sulphur Import Prices Treble in a Year, Threatening India's DAP and SSP Fertiliser Supply
21 September 2026 NEW DELHI. India has staved off a potential food crisis by importing enough urea and liquefied natural gas to allow domestic production of…
- FSSAI Files Three Adjudication Cases Against Nestlé India Over Infant Formula Claims and Biotin Content
19 September 2026 The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India said on Friday that it has initiated legal action against Nestlé India Ltd. for alleged…
- Agriculture Ministry Advances Rabi Planning as El Niño Bites; Sugar and Onion Stock Limits Reworked
19 September 2026 The agriculture ministry has stepped up preparations for the coming rabi season, working with States on crop planning, seed and fertiliser…
- What Lies Beyond India's E20 Push — the Hidden Cost of the Ethanol Blend
17 September 2026 An investigative economic-notes piece in The Hindu finds that India's E20 petrol blend (80% gasoline, 20% ethanol), scaled up this year partly in…