-PTI New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday pulled up states and union territories for not filing affidavits of steps taken by them for removal of illegal religious structures from public roads and pavements. The apex court was hearing the petition filed in 2006 in which directions were passed earlier to the states to remove unauthorised constructions, including PLAces of worships, from roads and public PLAces. After the states and union territories failed...

-The Tribune Punjabi farmer grows coriander and reaps handsome profit Chandigarh: Alambir Singh Randhawa (62), a resident of Chandigarh and owner of 160 acres in Sagar district of the drought-hit Madhya Pradesh, had never seen the Betwa river in the region bone dry. The river-fed irrigation system of the state had failed. With no proper rain since August 2015, he along with other farmers was staring at another season of loss but PLAying...

-Theweekendleader.com/ Women's Feature Service Purulia (West Bengal): It was ironical that Purulia district often found itself on the West Bengal government's 'drought-hit' list when the average rainfall here is 1100mm-1500mm. The failure to conserve water as well as poor agricultural practices meant that despite back-breaking labour in the fields, farmers could only achieve six months' food sufficiency. Today, however, all that is changing thanks to a water management revolution led by ordinary village...

-The Hindu Drought has devastated once-prosperous Latur. In this two-part series Sharad Vyas (text) and Vivek Bendre (photographs) report from the parched district. Latur: The water train chugging into Latur last week captured national attention. But it took the spotlight away from the daily struggle of lakhs of people facing the immediate consequences of extended drought and acute water scarcity in Latur district. The vagaries of nature have already taken their toll:...

-The Hindu Business Line The priority for this government is to promote the medical care market, not ensure universal healthcare for the majority Those at the helm of policymaking in the country have been, for some time, strongly advocating austerity as the principle for public expenditure policies, particularly for the social sectors. Arvind Panagariya, the vice-chairperson of the NITI Aayog, suggests that “for just three-quarters of a per cent of the GDP”, 0.76...