Avinash Kishore

#Fuelprices, #fertilizer shortages & trade disruptions could turn #Iranwar into a long-term #foodsecurity crisis. In @AJEnglish @AJInsideStory, @IFPRI’s @avinash_shahi shares insights & explains the risks to next season’s crops & food-importing countries: aje.news/n58y85

@iamgaurav_92 @Ajayvirjakhar R&D investments generate strong positive externalities. Socialist or liberal, there will be serious underinvestment in R&D if the State does not spend on it.

Another take on lack of vision - Bayer is a private company that spends approx. ₹ 22,500 annually on crop sciences - Govt of India will spend that much on Agri R&D in 10 years or possibly more. @avinash_shahi this year, the Indian budget allocation for Agri R&D has actually gone down ?

@Ajayvirjakhar Unfortunately, Yes. The allocation has gone down from Rs. 10,466.39 crores in 2025-26 (of which ~186 crores remained unspent) to 9967.4 crores in 2026-27.

“बसंत आता नहीं, ले आया जाता है” [Spring doesn’t come on its own; it is ushered in: Hazari Prasad Dwivedi]. Congratulations to Lahoris for ushering in Basant--der aayad, durust aayad! #Basant2026

@dhume @SharadRaghavan But imports do not show up in government budgets. India's total consumption is much larger than what GoI spends in a year. Your points is still quite valid, @SharadRaghavan

@SharadRaghavan x.com/dhume/status/2…

Just saying, but $500 billion is about Rs 45.5 lakh crore. As per Budget 2026, the govt plans to spend about Rs 53.5 lakh crore in total. That's on literally everything. Mr. Trump is saying India has committed about 85% of its total budget on goods from America.

@ritzsinha @BiharInfraTales I like that they are trying, but what about less glamorous industries like textile, garments, etc.? Wage rates in Bihar are lower than in Dhaka.

@BiharInfraTales Time to head back to Bihar and put the money where mouth is. This new term clearly will be different than past 4. It’s time for Bihar!

🚨Major Decisions Taken by the Bihar Cabinet Today ➡️Formation of a high-level panel to develop Bihar as Eastern India’s new Tech Hub, covering Defence Corridor, Semiconductor Park, GCCs, Mega Tech City, and FinTech City. ➡️Setting up of a strategic steering group to design and oversee the roadmap for making Bihar a Global Back-End Hub and Global Workplace within the next five years. ➡️Creation of a senior advisory group to formulate and monitor the action plan for expanding startup activities and New Age Economy–based employment opportunities for youth and entrepreneurs. ➡️Establishment of the Bihar Artificial Intelligence Mission to position the state as a leader in AI. ➡️In-principle clearance for developing 11 new Satellite/Greenfield Townships, with detailed project proposals to be prepared. ➡️Formation of a high-level committee chaired by the Chief Secretary to frame policy and action plans for new sugar mills and the revival of closed sugar mills.

@Roshanjnu @naalmot Thanks for flagging the absence of ag missing from the election in Bihar. 2 quick points: 1. Crop incomes in Bihar are low also because of smaller holdings. 2. Input intensity is not all that low. Look @ fertilizers. & farmers invest. Example: >0.5 million new electric pumps.

Part 3 flags what could have been real social justice in Bihar: rejuvenating agriculture & how no major party has taken it up cc @naalmot 3/3

1st of our 3-part political economy take on Bihar explains why the state which has seen pitched caste based class battles in its feudal agrarian past has seen a decoupling of caste & class from farming ( cc @NishantTISS & @naalmot ) 1/3

@ritzsinha @aaipatairport @MoCA_GoI Ohh! That's sad!! AAI should give way to a private firm. My limited experience suggests that airports developed and managed by pvt firms are much better maintained than all the AAI ones. I am yet to see an exception to this pattern.

Underwhelming experience at new Patna airport terminal arrivals. Why do our new constructions look so shoddy? Spotty tiles all over. Toilets unfinished and stinking. Really poor quality material and finishing. What is our benchmark for quality? @aaipatairport @MoCA_GoI

In the 1980s, Nestlé was moving into infant formula markets in low-income countries. With each new market entry, moms switched from breastfeeding to unclean water, and infant mortality increased substantially; 200,000 excess deaths per year. 1/n

Improving diet quality requires us to realign our ag policy with our true strengths and resource endowments: import more of what requires more land & water, and incentivize prodn & exports of what draws more on our farmers' skills and generates more value from scarce resources.

If some foods can be produced more efficiently elsewhere, we shouldn’t hesitate to import them. Right now, our cropping patterns & trade policies resemble those of a country rich in land and water but short on labor and skills — which is the exact opposite of India’s reality.

timesofindia.indiatimes.com/toi-plus/healt… Millets aren’t magic. No single food is. But neither are subsidies. Instead of subsidizing protein-rich foods, we should be incentivizing their production.

@Ajayvirjakhar Irrespective of tariffs, India, like China, will turn into a net food importer as it grows rich(er). Our predominantly vegetarian diets are a reason for our sustained trade surplus. If Indian diets change with rising incomes, our trade surplus will also go down.

Thinking aloud: How long can India remain a net exporter of agricultural produce? Rice varieties constitute about 25% of total agricultural exports & International price has fallen over 35%. Trump tariffs will make Indian agricultural exports like marine products (largest exports) uncompetitive & other factors…. … . Are Indian agricultural exports competitive only because of a depreciating ₹ ? 60% since Jan 2013.

@dhume In 2011, China's per capita GDP was almost twice as India's in 2025. But your point is still valid.

Just leaving this here: Shanghai and Beijing in 2011, when China’s GDP per capita (PPP) was roughly the same as India’s is today.

@ritzsinha Aadhar is not the issue here; what the EC was trying to do, so close to an election, is. Also, how can EC decide citizenship? It's terrible. Thank God! the honorable SCI stepped in. I hope their order puts a lid on such adventures.

Non resident Indians - NRIs are also eligible now for Aadhaar but it’s not mandatory. Why ECI is excluding it from its list of documents as a standalone proof is because it doesn’t prove one’s ancestors, domicile or citizenship status. However, it should be used as an ID proof.

Why is it so difficult for people to fathom that Aadhar is just an identity card for people - normally ‘resident’ in India. It does container biometrics which can be used for provisioning of government services and by private players as proof of identity. Nothing more!

@Ajayvirjakhar @Ajayvirjakhar @sayantanbera : Will looking at the imported quantities help get a better sense of what's happening?

A lot of the 80% increase in billing of imported fresh fruit amounting to Rs. 25,770 crores is Hawala transactions - money laundering. Have stated this before.

@ritzsinha @Anurag_Dwary PDS performance has improved a lot since we were kids, @ritzsinha. Diversification, though still big (>10 million tons'/year), has declined significantly. Everywhere. Even in Bihar & UP. Chhattisgarh was a model PDS state that started many changes that guided the national policy.

@Anurag_Dwary With per capita of few thousand rupees in Chattisgarh rural, it is only fair that people queue up for their rations in food processing shops. What is wrong in it? A country of 1.4 billion people will always have rush whatever you do. Just portraying it in a negative way!

ये हमारे देश की जनता है और ये छत्तीसगढ़ का गरियाबंद है, ऐसे गेट खुलते ही भागने को मजबूर हैं क्योंकि नई मशीन है, 3 महीने का राशन साथ मिलना है एक दिन में बमुश्किल 20-22 लोगों को राशन मिल रहा है

Save the date! 📅June 11⏰9:30AM EDT 📌 Fertilizer, soil health, and economic shocks: Policy lessons learned from recent events 🤝 @IFPRI @_Food_Policy 💬@cbb2cornell @KibromAbay @SpielmanDavidJ @AmankwahAkuffo @crragasa @JaweriahHazrana @pchivenge @ShamieZingore @avinash_shahi 🎟️ bit.ly/SoilHealth- @CGIAR

🆕#Blog: A heatwave in March doesn’t just hurt farmers, it drives up food prices, fuels inflation, and strains the economy. In his latest blog, @avinash_shahi highlights why climate-resilient agriculture matters for India’s economic stability. @CGIAR 🔗southasia.ifpri.info/2025/05/08/hea…