Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has launched the upgraded ‘Agri Welfare Portal’ to provide farmers with single-window access to government schemes, financial assistance, and reliable agricultural information via a mobile-friendly digital platform.
The portal integrates key initiatives like PM Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN), PM Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), and AgriStack, enabling farmers to easily access scheme details, eligibility criteria, and application services.
The ICAR-Central Institute for Research on Cotton Technology (ICAR-CIRCOT) has signed an MoU with Trust ARS Rubber Pvt Ltd for the technology transfer of “Protective Gloves for Cotton Picking Workers”.
The India-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (IN-NZ FTA) will officially come into force on October 20, 2026.
Under the agreement, India will gain 100% duty-free access on all 8,284 tariff lines to New Zealand. Additionally, India will liberalise 70.03% of tariff lines, covering 95% of bilateral trade value with key exclusions.
The Indian Council of Agricultural Research-Central Potato Research Institute (ICAR-CPRI) has developed a nutrient-rich purple potato variety named “Kufri Jamunia”. It is enriched with Vitamin C, anthocyanins, carotenoids, zinc, and iron to improve nutritional security and combat hidden hunger.
It is to be noted that the institute has also developed “Kufri Neelkanth”, the first purple-skinned specialty potato variety known for high antioxidant content, and “Kufri Manik”, a deep red-skinned potato variety with yellow flesh rich in anthocyanins, zinc, and iron.
Cheruvayal Raman, a renowned traditional rice conservationist from Kerala, known as “Nellachan” or the Father of Paddy, passed away at the age of 74. He is a recipient of Padma Shri in 2023.
The Ministry of Rural Development has notified the Schedule of Permissible Works under the Viksit Bharat - Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) [VB-G RAM G] Act, 2025. The Act expands permissible rural works from 266 to 375, reflecting a 41% increase across 4 pillars through Gram Sabha-approved Viksit Gram Panchayat Plans.
The expanded works are categorised into Water Security (128 works; 34%), Core Rural Infrastructure (111 works; 30%), Livelihood-related Infrastructure (98 works; 26%), and Disaster Preparedness (38 works; 10%). Additionally, agriculture accounts for 181 works under the updated schedule.
The World Bank has backed the proposal of the Kerala government to set up a Carbon Credit Cell under the Department of Agriculture.
The cell is established as a part of the ₹2,365 crore Kerala Climate Resilient Agri-Value Chain Modernisation (KERA) Project to promote climate-friendly farming practices and provide additional income opportunities for farmers.
Union Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh has launched the ‘Livestock Insurance Portal’ (Pashudhan Bima Portal) in New Delhi.
The portal, developed under the Livestock Insurance activity of the National Livestock Mission (NLM), provides a unified digital interface for stakeholders including farmers, insurers, and implementing agencies. To ensure comprehensive reach across diverse farming communities, the portal is accessible in 11 regional languages.
Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri has launched GOBARdhan, a Central Sector Scheme for the development of the Compressed Biogas (CBG) sector. The Union Cabinet has approved the scheme with a total outlay of ₹23,731 crore for a period of 10 years, from FY27 to FY36.
The scheme aims to increase the domestic production of CBG by nearly 10-fold to 5 Million Metric Standard Cubic Metres per Day (MMSCMD). To support the implementation, he has also launched the GOBARdhan Handbook and the Unified GOBARdhan Portal.
The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has signed an MoU with the Food Corporation of India (FCI) to conduct research on alternative fumigation technologies for the safe and sustainable management of storage pests in wheat and rice.
The two-year Phase-I project will be implemented by the Ludhiana-based ICAR - Central Institute of Post-Harvest Engineering and Technology (CIPHET).
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved the increase in Minimum Support Prices (MSP) for all mandated Rabi crops for the Marketing Season 2027-28 to ensure remunerative prices for growers.
The highest absolute increase in MSP was announced for Safflower at ₹675 per quintal, followed by Rapeseed and Mustard at ₹413 per quintal. The increase for other Rabi crops includes ₹390 per quintal for Lentil, ₹136 per quintal for Barley, ₹83 per quintal for Gram, and ₹25 per quintal for Wheat.
Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has approved procurement worth ₹5,547.99 crore at the Minimum Support Price (MSP) under the Price Support Scheme (PSS) for the Kharif Marketing Season 2026-27 across Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, and Telangana.
Uttar Pradesh received the largest share of the approved procurement at ₹3,992.57 crore. Procurement worth ₹1,107 crore was approved for pulse and oilseed farmers in Karnataka, while Telangana received ₹448.42 crore.
The central government has approved a one-time, interest-free loan of ₹50,000 per barn for the Flue-Cured Virginia (FCV) tobacco growers in Andhra Pradesh. The assistance is provided under the “Interest-Free Working Capital Assistance Scheme” with a total financial outlay of ₹220 crore.
The Uttar Pradesh government has launched ‘Bharat Taxi’ to support transport workers. The government has also introduced the ‘Mukhyamantri Krishak Samriddhi Yojana’ for farmers.
Under the scheme, agricultural loans are provided through the Cooperative Gramya Vikas Bank, with the interest rate reduced from 11% to 6%.
Z T Lalrithangi, popularly known as Pi Mari-i, from Mizoram has been selected by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) for the “FAO 100 Women Heroes in Agrifood Systems and Rural Development” recognition.
Union Minister Amit Shah has launched several cooperative and agricultural initiatives at Kollam in Kerala, organised by the National Cooperative Consumers’ Federation of India (NCCF).
He inaugurated the ‘Vanitham - She Mart Store’, a women-led cooperative venture to link women Self-Help Groups (SHGs) and rural entrepreneurs with consumers.
A tripartite agreement was signed to establish over 300 She-Mart stores across Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka. These outlets will sell locally sourced goods and subsidized commodities under the newly launched ‘Janah’ brand. Additionally, an MoU was signed with the Bharatiya Matsya Pravartak Sangham to integrate coastal fisheries products into the supply chain under the Janah brand.
Under the ‘Mission for Aatmanirbharta in Pulses’, free seed kits for urad and gram were distributed to women farmers to mark the International Year of the Woman Farmer. The NAFED-Kalyan Scholarship Scheme also provided financial aid to the daughters of registered farmers, benefiting 2,000 families.
The Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) has signed an MoU with InD Events Dubai, the organizer of Gulfood, to enhance global market opportunities for Indian agricultural and processed food exporters.
The agreement facilitates the participation of India as the Official Partner Country at Gulfood 2027 for the second consecutive year.
Union Minister Jitendra Singh has inaugurated a research facility named ‘SpeedSeed Phenotyping and Resource Optimization for Unified Trait Analysis (SPROUT)’ at the Biotechnology Research and Innovation Council - National Institute of Plant Genome Research (BRIC-NIPGR) in New Delhi.
The facility initially focuses on chickpea crops and integrates genomics, genome editing, and phenotyping to accelerate trait validation and breeding efficiency. It is to be noted that SPROUT uses SpeedSeed technology to reduce crop cycles to a duration of 40 days.
Dileep Sanghani, the Chairman of the Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Ltd (IFFCO), has been elected as an At-Large Director to the Global Board of the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA) for the 2026-2030 term.
Dr Ariel Guarco of Argentina was re-elected unopposed as the President of the ICA for the same tenure. It is to be noted that the ICA Global Board consists of 30 members.
