Parthasarathi Biswas

The expectation of a bumper crop comes in the backdrop of the Sino-US tariff war, with China clamping down on US imports. China is the largest importer of US soybean, with its average yearly import slated to be as high as 1,000 lakh tonnes.

Rajiv Mitra, managing director of the Satara-based Govind Milk and Milk Products, said the database would be ready in three months. “This will allow for direct benefit transfer as well as bring better transparency in the system,” he said.

Farmers are getting less for milk, but retail prices are unchanged. Global skimmed milk powder prices are down, as are India’s exports. A way to absorb surplus could be to include milk in mid-day meals scheme.

Led by MP Raju Shetti, the Sanghtana has embarked on a state-wide agitation since Monday to stop the supply of milk to urban areas, to press for its demand for a subsidy of Rs 5 per litre for dairy farmers, to help them tide over the spell of low prices.

The real problems in these two major farm commodities may surface only after October.

The students were on the last leg of their long march which had started in Pune last week to protest against the suspension of canteen services in the tribal hostels.

Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghtana members block supply tankers, spill milk on roads. Led by MP Raju Shetti, the sanghtana has called for a supply blockage to urban areas highlighting the low realisations of dairy farmers.

This is the second time since 2007 that the MP has taken up the issue of milk pricing but this time Shetti has more than just pricing on his mind.

Maharashtra Chief Minsiter Devendra Fadnavis disapproved of the agitation launched by milk suppliers and said the government was open for talks on any issue.

The state government’s announcement for an export subsidy for skimmed milk powder as well as dairies, increasing the procurement price by Rs 3 for farmers, had failed to resolve the crisis.

Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana, a farmer’s body led by MP Raju Shetti, has said it will go ahead with the plan to stop milk supply to Mumbai and Pune from July 16.

At the weekly markets, groups that practice chemical-free farming have been given banners depicting the whole process through photographs.

Before the Lok Sabha and state elections in 2014, many leaders of the warkari community had actively campaigned for the BJP. However, four years later, some of the community leaders seemed to have second thoughts.

On the eve of the first anniversary of the introduction of the GST, The Indian Express speaks to Shrikant Paranjape, president, CREDAI Pune Metro, to understand the journey so far.

Three years since the deregulation, data shows that wholesale mandis have started reporting an almost 50 per cent dip in their business, in terms of arrivals as well as turnover.

Even the best-run dairies are being forced to slash procurement prices paid to farmers

One of the major reasons behind the backlog is that the post of State Information Commissioner at the Nashik bench has been vacant for 13 months. The Pune State Information Commissioner, Ravindra Jadhav, holds dual charges of both State Information Commissions.

Instead of canteen facility, state provides direct cash transfers; The Indian Express looks into the many complaints, letters and issues that led to the decision.

The arrests of senior Bank of Maharashtra officials for alleged corruption in loan disbursals has sent shock waves through the industry. What is the Pune case, and what are the ramifications of the arrests?