Indian companies raised a total of Rs 2.81 lakh crore in fresh capital from equity and debt markets in the April-December period of 2012.

Delays in environment clearances needs to be addressed on a fast-track basis for achieving coal production target of 795 MT during the current five year plan (2012-17), the Economic Survey said today.

Cargo traffic at ports during the six-month period ended September 2012 grew by just 1.8% to 455.8 million tonne due to decline in shipments handled at major ports, Economic Survey said today.

Investors have put in more than Rs 1.2 lakh crore in various mutual funds in first nine months of the ongoing financial year compared to cumulative net outflow of nearly Rs 80,000 crore in last two financial years.

After being at the receiving end of public ire, the government did not miss the opportunity of slipping in a brief policy statement on addressing the issue of violence against women in the Economic Survey

Expressing disappointment over growth slowing to 5% this fiscal, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia today said that things would look up in next financial year.

Demographic dividend can slip away

To counter the debilitating effects of natural calamities, the Himachal Pradesh Government has proposed to the Centre...

Looks do matter. This seems to be the conclusion of the J-K Government as far as apple sales are concerned.

Grapes have lost their allure for the farmers of Bathinda in Punjab, a region that is home to around 70 per cent...

Himachal Pradesh is famously known as the 'Apple State of India''. But the state is now clutching the title nervously...

Tomato and capsicum growers of Himachal Pradesh have lost some 40 to 60 per cent of their yield to fungal diseases so...

The Amarnath land row which prevented the Kashmir apple crop from reaching the wholesale market, proved to be a blessing in disguise for Himachal''s orchards.

With less than normal rainfall, the farms in Gujarat are grappling with shortage of both power and water for irrigation.

Despite an annual turnover of more than Rs 2,000 crore, Himachal Pradesh''s apple orchards have witnessed a decline in the yield.

Allahabad based agriculture scientist Anshuka Srivastava has developed a robot that would help farmers detect Downy Mildew, a parasite that affects grape cultivation.

Two months ago, Kailash Thate, a young man with 10 acres of farmland close to the Ujjani dam, set up an agro-processing unit to extract fibres...

The agriculture department is asking farmers to spray a dilute solution of groundnut oil on the papaya plant as soon as the symptoms of the disease appear. This 'treatment technique'' has been developed by Moradabad farmers

Earlier, sanitation of the field by removal and destruction of affected papaya plants was the only way adopted by the farmers to reduce the spread of the papaya mosaic virus disease. In some cases, losses were minimised by controlling the population of aphids.

Come December and a rich hue of orange lights up the Punjab villages from Hoshiarpur in the north to the Abohar-Ferozepur belt in the south.

With the Rabi season around the corner, farmers in Jammu and Kashmir are facing an acute shortage of chemical fertilisers.

Though Uttarakhand has often been described as a hub of herbs, it has so far failed to tap the natural resources to its potential.

Whenever Vidarbha''s farm crisis is debated, the blame is often thrust on the farmers themselves.

After more than a decade of hectic efforts and numerous trials, scientists at Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agriculture.

Spiralling aflatoxin levels in groundnuts are giving nightmares to exporters in Gujarat, which accounts for over 50 per cent kernel exports from India.

While a majority of wheat farmers in Punjab and Haryana are ruing the loss of yield, all those who went for organic and natural farming this time are a happy lot.

When Ghulam Ahmad Khan, a part time farmer, decided to turn his paddy field into a strawberry plantation rather than the customary apple orchard.

Tomato and capsicum crops grown in the mid-hills of the state are increasingly being lost to collar rot and leaf blight diseases.

The Himachal apples will not taste as they used to do in the best days of their harvests.

Poor production of the fruit in Kashmir, Himachal has jacked up prices in Pune markets to a minimum retail price of Rs 120 per kg....

In a year characterised by the aftershocks of economic slow down hitting almost every sector, apple orchard owners in Himachal Pradesh still have reason to smile.

Yadvendra Ram Tripathi, of Sariyya village under the Khajni development block in Gorakhpur district, a graduate, spurned the offer of a government...

At a first-of-its-kind 'scientifically-managed'' orchard at Kotgarh''s Harmony Hall Orchard, associated with the legendary Samuel Evans Stokes, around 10,000 fresh plants have replaced ageing trees. A weather station is keeping a tab on the orchard....

Since the advent of the Green Revolution popularised use of excessive irrigation and fertilisers in India in the 1960s, biodynamic farming...

Demand of flowers in the forthcoming Commonwealth Games, the price of Himachal apples in Delhi markets, a new subsidy scheme for polyhouses, or new varieties of maize developed at a research centre....

The bumper apple crop in Himachal Pradesh this year has failed to translate into good news for growers yet again. Drought and hail have damaged the fruits....

With the help of technology and a Taiwanese variety of seed, Punjab''s maiden attempt at commercial cultivation of papaya is bearing fruit.

Orchards in hill state major consumers of vermicompost made in Punjab, a state which still banks on chemicals.

Pineapple farmers are in expansion mode in Kerala.

A lone farmer rids a vast 200 acres of farm land of all pests with the use of ancient Indian science of Ayurveda.

Long winter, good snowfall makes climate favourable for a quality harvest this year.

In Gumla district''s rice belts, which remain barren for six months in a year, a social worker has introduced farmers to fruits and horticultural plants

Three anti-hail guns, part of a Rs 27-cr pilot project , could protect only those areas where they were installed. One gun covers between 80 and 100 hectares

Decent rainfall, coupled with contract farming and govt policies, boosts wine production

Meghalaya is not only the abode of the clouds but also home to one of the tastiest and best oranges in the country

Crop loss figure already stands at Rs 200 cr

Incessant rainfall and low temperatures have already caused 60-70% crop loss, likely to breed diseases too

On one side, fear of wipe-out by foreign arrivals. On the other, hopes of better infrastructure

Its consumption puts other states to shame, govt sets out to boost production with training but struggles with marketing outside

Kashmir warms up to cultivation of its countless medicinal plants