SPREAD FARM INSURANCE NET AS WIDE AS NEEDED

THE new year has started on a sombre note for Odisha, where at least 10 farmers have died—half of them by suicide—in less than two weeks.

- 

Two spells of unseasonal rains brought the farming community to its knees right when it was time to harvest the kharif paddy crop. The Mohan Majhi government got on its feet, with the chief minister leading teams to visit the rain-affected pockets for a reality check. Majhi later tagged the unseasonal rains as a calamity, which meant farmers who lost more than a third of their crops would be provided assistance according to the state’s relief code. The official estimate puts the number of affected farmers at 6.66 lakh, who will get a total of ₹291.5 crore in input assistance. About 2.61 lakh farmers who had register