-The Hindu Commission’s powers under RP Act limited to candidates, agents Ahmedabad: In a stinging indictment, the Gujarat High Court on Friday called “unconstitutional” and “illegal” the searches and seizure of anything over Rs. 2.5 lakh (in cash and kind) from any car by static surveillance teams of the Election Commission. Observing that the action was not only uncalled for as the names of Assembly election candidates had not even been announced, a...

-The Hindu Most of the youth were working outside district when the attack took place With normality limping back to Dalit villages in Dharmapuri district, which witnessed a caste flare-up on Wednesday evening, the victims have alleged that an act of ‘systematic destruction’ of their properties and livelihood resources has taken place. The Dalit settlements of Natham, Kondampatti and Annanagar in Naikkankottai villages bore the brunt of mob fury following the suicide of...

-The Hindu It will be a blow to Indian science, it says The Centre on Friday informed the Supreme Court that the recommendations of the Technical Expert Committee (TEC) seeking a 10-year moratorium on field trials on Genetically Modified (GM) crops will be highly detrimental and will not be in national interest. “Based on current overall status of food safety evaluation of Bt. Transgenics, including the data on Bt. Cotton and Bt. Brinjal...

-The Hindu "We need a relook at the entire approach to development in tribal areas" MALKANGIRI (ODISHA): Abysmally low literacy, high infant mortality rate and inaccessible terrain put a big question mark over the talk of inclusive growth in this tribal-dominated district of Odisha. Considered a hotbed of Maoist activity, the death of 24 children at Potrel and Usakapalli in the Korukonda block and at Charkiguda on the outskirts of the district headquarters...

Since early November, Delhi and large parts of North India have been enveloped in a thick, grey smog, sparking concerns and a debate on what is leading to the rising levels of air pollution. A January 2012 paper by Ridhima Gupta from the Indian Statistical Institute, Delhi is drawing linkages between the quality of air in the capital and agricultural practices during harvest season on farms in the neighbouring state...