Exemption for its application against 44 pests in 22 crops The decision will not be binding on India unless specifically ratified by it Exemptions will be available for five years, extendable for another five years The Conference of Parties to the Stockholm Convention in Geneva on Friday approved the recommendation for elimination of production and use of Endosulfan and its isomers worldwide, subject to certain exemptions. The decision will not be binding on India...

Parents and educationists are concerned over posting of several primary school teachers in junior high schools, high schools and higher secondary schools in the four valley districts of Manipur. Students have complained that these teachers could not handle any subject. Chief Minister Okram Ibobi, who is in charge of Education, has said the government will soon appoint an additional 1,300 primary and 600 graduate teachers. The selection test for teachers will...

India's vegetables production is estimated to have increased by over five per cent to 14.1 crore tonnes in 2010-11, Parliament was informed today. The country's vegetables production was 13.3 crore tonnes in 2009-10, Minister of State for Agriculture Arun Yadav said in a written reply to Lok Sabha. Cultivation of major vegetables including onion, potato, brinjal, cabbage, cauliflower, peas and Okra saw a rise during the period, he said. Giving details, he said...

Buddhi Devi was 14 when she was betrothed. In India, that is not unusual: many marry young. Her intended was a boy from her village who was two years younger — that, too, was not strange. But she was also supposed to marry her future husband’s younger brother, once he was old enough. Now 70 and a widow who is still married— one of her husbands is dead — Ms. Devi...

Manipur households may find it difficult to fill their plates with rice next year, with the ongoing economic blockade robbing farmers of essential fuel to run their tilling machines. The food and civil supplies godown now has 7,132 metric tonnes of rice while the Indian Oil Corporation in Imphal has 1,223 kilo litres of diesel. The rice will last for a month, while the diesel can keep the state running for...