
EYE-ON-INDIA
Farm Uneasy | Two-fold rise in production costs jar farmer profits
A two-fold rise in production costs in the past few years is eating into farmers' profits, bringing down their gains to a significantly low amount. This has been specially devastating for small farmers, which amount to 85 percent of farming community of the country.

EYE-ON-INDIA
Farm Uneasy | Government's concerted push for eco-friendly nano urea finds few takers in Punjab, Haryana
Nano urea, a nanotechnology-based farm nutrient, is being plugged as solution to deteriorating soil health in Punjab and Haryana, but farmers remain leery of adopting it.

BUSINESS
MC Explains: How nano urea can reduce fertiliser subsidy, revolutionise farming in India
Nano urea holds the promise to bring down imports of granular urea substantially and save crucial foreign currency while also reducing pollution. Moneycontrol takes a look at the new technology and how it can be a game changer for farming in India.

EYE-ON-INDIA
Farm Uneasy: Despite push towards access to formal credit, most farmers continue to rely on middlemen for loans
To meet their growing expenditure, from daily needs and health emergencies to weddings and sending their children abroad for studies, farmers rely on Arhtiyas despite the heavy interest they pay. Arhtiyas remain crucial for the farm economy of Punjab and Haryana

INDIA
Farm Uneasy | Generational gift for farmers of Haryana & Punjab: Debt
Farmers of both Punjab and Haryana remain weighed under heavy debts as it rises many folds from one generation to another. Moneycontrol went to several districts of the two states and spoke to a host of farmers to get an assessment of the situation on ground.

BUSINESS
Farm Uneasy | Battered by freak weather, Punjab and Haryana farmers losing hope
Successive crop failures due to rising temperatures and unseasonal rain and hail have dealt a body blow to farmers. Moneycontrol travelled through the ravaged districts of Punjab and Haryana to bring you this ground report

BUSINESS
China remains India’s top source of imports as shipments rise to $98.5 billion
Shipments from the Asian giant rose 4.16 percent in FY23, while exports from India fell 28 percent.

BUSINESS
UK FTA: Negotiations only at halfway point; India misses internal deadline of closing pact by March
Of the 26 chapters to be negotiated, only 13 have been closed so far, said commerce ministry officials. The ninth round of talks is scheduled for April 24 to 28.

BUSINESS
Merchandise trade deficit rises 39.6% on year in FY23
The country’s imports in merchandise sector rose by over $ 100 billion in FY 2022-23.

BUSINESS
NCERT to send new foundational learning material to 20,000 schools, train more teachers
Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan launched the play and activity-based learning-teaching materials called Jaadui Pitara in 13 languages in February.

BUSINESS
Fall in funding just a system readjustment, startup ecosystem fine: DPIIT Joint Secretary Manmeet Nanda
Her comments come a day after the report by a global market intelligence platform Tracxn showed that funding for the Indian startups in the first quarter of the calendar year 2023 fell 75 percent to $2.8 billion as compared to the same period in the previous year (year-on-year), when it stood at $11.9 billion.

BUSINESS
Centre announces Quality Control Orders for 31 technical textile items
The government is of the opinion that it is necessary to implement quality controls to increase the standards of Geo Textiles and Protective Textiles and protect the environment, human health, and animal and plant life on par with those in developed countries.

ECONOMY
ONDC’s challenge is onboarding stakeholders, expanding the market: T Koshy, CEO
ONDC is working towards digitizing and supporting grassroots-level entrepreneurs and local retailers, and making them a beneficiary of India's e-commerce revolution.

BUSINESS
Govt will work with logistics sector to drive trade numbers, address issues
The express delivery industry has been pegged to play a pivotal role in facilitating India’s growth and helping it become a $17 trillion economy by 2047.

BUSINESS
India’s ONDC is one year old. Here's a status check
As the government's ambitious Open Network for Digital Commerce platform completes a year, Moneycontrol takes a look at how it has grown, its foundational policies, sectors that are performing well, the challenges it faces and what its future holds

BUSINESS
Mughal empire chapters dropped to ‘reduce content load’: NCERT Director
Last year, NCERT textbooks of Class XII were given a revamp under the NDA government, deleting Mughal history from its social science textbooks

BUSINESS
60 percent growth in service sectors in 2 years: Piyush Goyal
The total export of services from India in 2020-21 was $ 206 billion, which reached the targeted $ 250 billion in 2021-22 and is expected to reach $ 325 billion in 2022-23.

BUSINESS
New Foreign Trade Policy: Focus on international trade settlement in rupee
The move is a step forward in India’s efforts to make the rupee a global currency, while attempting to insulate itself from global shocks.

BUSINESS
Healthcare tourism needs more attention as export sector: Services Export Promotion Council
The industry has been seeking rebates on marketing activities for medical tourism, GST waivers on foreign patients’ flights, and hospital and hotel bills. The central government’s 'Heal in India' initiative, expected to push India’s position as a hub for medical tourism, still awaits its launch.

BUSINESS
Need of data to analyze true potential of services sector, says industry executive
A standing committee on commerce has highlighted the importance of service exports and recommended that data be made available in the public domain

BUSINESS
India’s Foreign Trade Policy aims $2 trillion exports by 2030; rolls out key measures
A sharp focus on emerging sectors for exports such as e-commerce, developing districts as export hubs, internationalisation of trade in rupee, amnesty scheme for a one-time settlement, and doing away with the 5-year timeline for FTPs will be key steps to reach the $2-trillion export mark.

BUSINESS
Few incentives, ASHA workers indifferent to certification course; enrolments continue to decline
Just 50,968 ASHA workers against a total of over 10 lakh took the course in the last five years. A low number of trainers, lack of awareness and no added incentives are cited as reasons for the drop in the numbers

BUSINESS
All members of EFTA interested to discuss FTAs with India: Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal
The European Free Trade Association (EFTA) is an intergovernmental organization of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.

ENVIRONMENT
Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav calls for 'climate justice' in energy use
Environment minister Bhupender Yadav stated that the country will continue to use fossil fuel for energy production, to meet its energy demands citing ‘climate justice’, and has called out developed countries for the climate change world currently faces.