Buoyed by bumper production estimates this year, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar today favoured export of certain commodities like non-basmati rice, sugar and onion to protect the interests of the farming community. “Generally we feel, we should take a total liberalised approach on export of certain items...Farmers are raising concern that prices of some commodities are going down,” Pawar told reporters here. Citing onion case as an example, Pawar said farmers, who were...

Climate change is a serious global issue of great concern to different countries. So said Dr Manjit Singh Kang, PAU vice-chancellor, on the opening day of a three-day international conference on 'Preparing Agriculture for Climate Change' at Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) on Sunday. 'Green revolution is a path-breaking movement and Punjab has spearheaded it for over four decades,' said Punjab Agricultural Marketing Board chairman Ajmer Singh Lakhowal, the chief guest. Kang, who...

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's observation that enforcement of environmental regulatory standards should not lead to a throwback to the days of the licence-permit raj strikes a jarring note in an era of enlightened, science-based conservation. By projecting regulation as a threat to economic development, he has brought needless pressure to bear on the NAScent efforts of Minister Jairam Ramesh to bring accountability and transparency to the Ministry of Environment and...

The 32-member gang has been involved in 15 cases Move to invoke Act comes after killing of NAShik Additional Collector The police have booked a 32-member sand mafia from Nevasa taluk under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA). This is the first time the Act has been invoked against a sand mafia in the State, Ahmednagar Superintendent of Police Krishna Prakash told The Hindu. The mafia, led by the absconding Anna...

The Delhi Government will soon initiate the process to make laws for protecting the livelihood and social security rights of more than three lakh street vendors and will instruct the concerned civic bodies, enforcement department and the police to put a halt on all eviction drives, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit has assured a delegation of National Association of Street Vendors of India. The Chief Minister assured that the Government...