The Andaman & Nicobar Administration’s SPICE PRAVAH dashboard recorded 86.37 hectares under spice cultivation, 139,052 planted spice saplings and 635 participating farmers as of 2 October 2026. The programme includes farmer fields and departmental farms. Five high-value spice crops are covered. Black pepper occupies the largest area at 40.44 hectares with 75,786 plants and 451 farmers. Cinnamon follows with 27.42 hectares, 59,210 plants and 221 farmers. Cl

Mizoram’s Anthurium Festival returned on 1 October 2026 after a three-year gap, with a three-day programme running until 3 October at Reiek and nearby Ailawng in Mamit district. Organised by Mizoram Tourism with the Horticulture Department, the festival links commercial floriculture with village tourism, food, handicrafts, cultural performances, trekking and visits to rural communities. Anthurium is one of Mizoram’s established flower products. The festiva

A two-day Rabi Agriculture Fair opened on 1 October 2026 at Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar. The fair brought farmers, scientists, extension personnel and technology providers together around improved seed, farm machinery, crop-management practices, cotton production, water conservation and crop diversification. Current reporting confirms that 45 progressive farmers were felicitated. The fair functions as an extension platform

Gujarat has announced a voluntary relocation scheme for eligible Maldhari pastoral families living inside Barda Wildlife Sanctuary in Porbandar and Devbhumi Dwarka districts. The scheme provides ₹15 lakh as a one-time payment per eligible family that chooses to relocate outside the sanctuary. Each relocating family is also eligible for a 100-square-yard residential plot free of cost, located outside the sanctuary and Eco-Sensitive Zone. Livestock-owning fa

Meghalaya organised a large community cleanliness mobilisation on 2 October 2026 over an approximately 100-km stretch from Nongpoh to Sohra under Swachhata Hi Seva 2026. The drive, organised through the Directorate of Urban Affairs and Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban), used the theme “Ek Din, Ek Saath, Ek Ghanta.” Participation included students, colleges, Dorbar Shnongs, community organisations, departments, residents and other stakeholders. The campaign was

West Bengal began a Reform Utsav on 2 October 2026 to connect watershed development with Gram Sabha-based local planning. The reported watershed coverage is about 1.29 lakh hectares, with around 2.29 lakh marginal farmers and agriculture-dependent people linked to benefits from watershed interventions. Current activities include improved seed, farm equipment, crop diversification, horticulture and soil and water conservation. The issue is important in a st

Around 2.42 lakh Special Gram Sabhas were convened across India on 2 October 2026 as the People’s Plan Campaign 2026–27, “Sabki Yojana, Sabka Vikas,” opened the planning cycle for Gram Panchayat Development Plans for FY 2027–28. The process places local deliberation before project selection, so that villages can review public services, identify gaps and set priorities before the final plan is prepared. More than 2.55 lakh Gram Panchayats already use eGramS

A consignment of 1 metric tonne of popped makhana from Purnea, Bihar, was flagged for export to Greece on 2 October 2026 with APEDA facilitation. The shipment was sourced by Indo Global Export at Belouri, Purnea, and exported through S. S Foods Exports Pvt. Ltd., moving by sea from Mundra Port to Piraeus Port. The Commerce Ministry stated that the export achieved higher price realisation than the prevailing domestic selling price, although the exact premiu

Lakshadweep is expanding its fisheries strategy through tuna development, deep-sea fishing, Fish Aggregating Devices, seaweed cultivation, processing, cold-chain infrastructure and community enterprise. The Union Territory Fisheries Department records 81 fisheries projects under PMMSY: 24 completed and 57 ongoing. The islands have about 4,200 sq km of lagoon area, 20,000 sq km of territorial waters and an EEZ of around 400,000 sq km. Latest departmental da

Special Gram Sabhas were scheduled across 198 Gram Panchayats in Jammu & Kashmir on 2 October 2026 to discuss watershed development, soil conservation, water harvesting and community participation. The meetings cover 19 watershed projects and approximately 53,619 hectares under programme coverage. Around 80 additional district and project-level awareness locations are also part of the effort. A major component is springshed development: more than 550 sprin

Maharashtra’s Women Farmer Empowerment Act, 2026 has created a formal route to recognise women engaged in agriculture and allied activities as farmers even when land is not registered in their names. The state Agriculture Department’s Woman Farmer Certificate portal provides online application, eligibility checking, tracking and certificate download. The certification framework recognises actual engagement in farming rather than land title alone, and inclu

Around 5,000 women farmers and office-bearers from across India participated in the All India Women Farmers’ Workers Conference at Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, New Delhi, on 30 September 2026. Organised by the Bharatiya Kisan Sangh, the conference took place during the UN-declared International Year of the Woman Farmer 2026. Its main themes were women’s recognition as farmers, participation in agricultural decision-making, access to credit, local processi

A raft-based cultivation trial by ICAR–Central Institute of Brackishwater Aquaculture demonstrated rapid growth of red seaweed Gracilaria salicornia in Muttukadu lagoon, south of Chennai. The peer-reviewed study was published in Blue Biotechnology on 1 July 2025 and newly reported in science media on 1 October 2026. The experiment used 12 bamboo rafts of 3 sq m each, giving a total trial area of 36 sq m. Each raft carried 12 tube nets stocked with 1.2 kg o

AMM Foundation’s Project NANNEER has rejuvenated three community water bodies in Haliyal taluk, Karnataka: Kumbarekare Lake, Alloli Pond and Hanumantha Pond. The work involved desilting, deepening and structural strengthening to improve local storage, groundwater recharge, summer water availability and irrigation support. The three water bodies had a combined pre-restoration storage capacity of 389,397 cubic metres. After intervention, capacity rose to 767

The International Water Management Institute and HCLFoundation signed an MoU on 24 September 2026 to develop locally adapted water-security and climate-resilience interventions for vulnerable rural districts. The agreement was signed during the 9th India International Water Week and is designed to combine IWMI’s scientific research capacity with HCLFoundation’s CSR implementation network. The focus is on rural geographies where water stress, climate risk,