India’s Farm Exports Rise Despite Global Tariff Pressure
India’s agricultural exports continued to grow despite rising global trade uncertainties and tariff pressures linked to U.S. policy changes under President Donald Trump’s administration. According to the latest trade data, India’s farm exports increased 2.3% year-on-year to US$ 53.1 billion during FY2025, highlighting the resilience of the country’s agri-export ecosystem amid geopolitical and economic disruptions….
FAO Food Price Index Hits 3-Year High
Global food prices climbed for the third consecutive month in April 2026, with the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Food Price Index rising to 130.7 points — its highest level since February 2023. The index increased 1.6% from March, driven mainly by surging vegetable oil, meat and cereal prices amid escalating global energy costs…
Strengthening Agriculture and Allied Sector and Market Access
Transforming India’s Livestock and Fisheries Sector Introduction India’s agricultural progress is increasingly supported by the expansion of allied sectors such as livestock, dairy, poultry, and fisheries. These sectors have become major contributors to agricultural Gross Value Added (GVA) and rural employment. Over the last decade, agriculture and allied sectors have witnessed a steady 3-5% CAGR, fuelled by extensive government efforts, private innovations, and sizeable…
India Keeps Agriculture & Dairy Out of FTAs to Protect Farmers
India has recently signed a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with New Zealand, following earlier pacts with Australia, the UK, the UAE, Oman and the European Free Trade Association, while deliberately excluding agriculture and dairy from these deals to safeguard domestic producers. The strategy reflects India’s cautious approach after withdrawing from the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership…
GST cuts boost dairy, agriculture in Bihar
The Government has rolled out GST rate rationalisation, cutting tax burdens across agriculture and dairy in Bihar. Key measures include making UHT milk and paneer GST-free, reducing ghee and butter from 12% to 5%, and slashing ice cream’s rate from 18% to 5%. These changes are expected to lower prices by 5–13%, easing working capital…
Free Farming, Not Freebies
In the 1946 novel, Zorba the Greek, Nikos Kazantzakis writes: ‘Look, one day I had gone to a little village. An old grandfather of ninety was busy planting an almond tree. ‘What, grandfather!’ I exclaimed. ‘Planting an almond tree?’ And he, bent as he was, turned around and said: ‘My son, I carry on as…
Income Tax Bill 2025 to Tax Farming & Dairy Earnings!
The Income Tax Bill 2025 has introduced a significant shift in India’s tax policy, aiming to bring farming and dairy earnings under the tax net. For decades, agricultural income has enjoyed tax exemptions, but the government is now revising these rules to curb misuse and improve tax compliance. Many farmers, agricultural entrepreneurs, and dairy business owners are concerned about…
Agriculture is fiscally neglected in the Budget
Schemes and programmes are starved of resources, and the real issues that confront the farmers and the sector remain sidelined A Budget is the response of a government to the challenges in the economy. The effort in the Economic Survey 2024-25 was to spin a positive narrative on the state of Indian agriculture. It claimed…
Livestock Sector Boosts Agricultural GVA from 24.32% to 30.38% in Eight Years
Allied sectors of Indian Agriculture– Sunrise industry The critical role that animal husbandry and fisheries play in enhancing farmers’ income, especially with diminishing agricultural holdings, is well-recognized. Schemes such as the Rashtriya Gokul Mission (RGM), the National Digital Livestock Mission (NDLM), and the National Programme for Dairy Development (NPDD) incorporate interventions to improve quality, facilitate…
Despite good initiatives under NDA backing out on farm reforms is a negative
he National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government adopted a two-pronged strategy to address the twin challenges of raising agricultural growth and enhancing the welfare of farmers after it came to power in 2014. Initiatives such as PM Kisan Samman Nidhi, which entail an annual payment of ₹6,000 per farmer in four installments, or the PM Fasal…