-The Hindu Business Line Although literacy levels are improving, there’s not enough learning happening. This calls for urgent attention This year, marks the 50th year of International Literacy Day. In 1966, UNESCO declared September 8 as International Literacy Day to “mobilize the international community and to promote literacy as an instrument to empower individuals, communities and societies”. At Independence in 1947, India had a literacy rate of 12 per cent, which stands today...

-The Hindu Business Line New Delhi: India has sought the cooperation of fellow BRICS members — Brazil, Russia, China and South Africa — to help meet the country’s production shortfall in pulses and oilseeds. Agriculture Ministers from BRICS countries have agreed to promote production of pulses in their respective countries and raise awareness about its nutritional aspects, according to the joint declaration adopted at the end of their meeting in New Delhi,...

-The New Indian Express BHAWANIPATNA: More than 60 per cent of cultivable land lies infertile in Kalahandi district. Rain has been playing hide and seek year after year pushing small and marginal farmers to the brink. On the irrigation front too, Indravati project has failed to provide succour. Nearly 63 per cent of the district’s population lives below the poverty line. A rough estimate reveals that 30,000 people from 10,000 families migrate...

-Livemint.com India’s Kharif foodgrain production is estimated at 135 million tonnes in 2016-17, 9% higher than the year before New Delhi: Boosted by a normal monsoon, India’s rain-fed Kharif harvest will be the highest ever in history, show first advance estimates of crop production released by the agriculture ministry on Thursday. India’s Kharif foodgrain production is estimated at 135 million tonnes in 2016-17, 9% higher than the year before, when a crippling drought...

-Livemint.com Contrary to popular perception, it’s not because of good luck or necessarily a large growth sacrifice; policymakers deserve more credit than they get One of the most visible macroeconomic successes in India over the last three years has been the sustained moderation of headline consumer price index (CPI) inflation. CPI (industrial workers) averaged 9.5% for six years between 2007 and 2013. For the last 30 months, however, it has averaged...