Punjab package to spur industrial use of paddy stubble

State hopes to prevent annual post-harvest burning of crop residue

Close to the autumn every year, stubble burning returns to contribute to air pollution across India’s northern plains. However, to during the paddy harvesting season, Punjab — the key grain producing State — is all set this year to as a “resource to create wealth”. The State government is working to present ‘paddy straw’ as a resource that creates value and wealth for industry and the farming community, rather than being a waste product of paddy cultivation.