-The Indian Express Drought poses major setback to Swachh Bharat Abhiyan in Maharashtra. Pune: Ekurke was a success story that inspired many. In 2013, this village in Osmbanabad district’s Kalamb tehsil built 350 toilets in a short span of one-and-a-half months to end the shame of having to defecate in the open. The concerted efforts by the villagers led to the transformation of their village once “infamously dirty” into one where each...

-The Hindu States asked to exempt pulses from Value Added Tax and other local levies to control prices The government is considering banning futures trading in chana dal (brown chickpeas) and reducing import duty on sugar as part of its efforts to rein in inflation, according to a top official. Higher food prices, led by pulses and sugar, pushed wholesale price inflation into positive territory in April after 17 months of decline while...

-The Financial Express In a bid to curb pilferage of foodgrains in the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS), the Centre on Saturday asked the states to opt for Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) under which the subsidy component is credited to bank accounts and allows the beneficiaries to buy foodgrains from the market. However, for implementing DBT, the states must complete digitisation of beneficiary list and seed bank account details for fund transfer....

-The Hindu Business Line Affected states to undertake construction of farm ponds, adopt micro-irrigation New Delhi: The Centre has asked drought-affected States to prepare action plans on a weekly basis to tide over challenges such as shortage and scarcity of drinking water, promote conservation efforts and prudent usage of existing water resources. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his recent meetings with the Chief Ministers of Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat,...

-The Times of India JAIPUR: The severe heatwave conditions intensified in dry Rajasthan on Thursday with a majority of stations witnessing maximum temperatures above 46 degrees Celsius. Phalodi in Jodhpur recorded a maximum temperature of 51 degrees Celsius - the highest temperature recorded in the country since 1956, while the state capital of Jaipur had its hottest day in last 11 years with a maximum temperature of 46.5 degrees Celsius. Alwar, so...