-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Even as commerce and industry minister Anand Sharma sought to push an interim solution or a "peace clause" that will prevent WTO members from seeking penalties from countries such as India for breach of subsidy cap, the Opposition parties and farmer groups have asked the government to reject the solution, arguing that it is not in the country's interests. At next week's Bali ministerial meeting,...

-The Times of India PATIALA: A new study has revealed that over 34% of marginal farmers in Punjab are still living below poverty line, denting the tall claims of SAD-BJP government on uplift of the farmers, who are considered the traditional vote bank of the over nine-decade-old Shiromani Akali Dal. Besides marginal farmers, the study conducted by the Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), Ludhiana, has also brought to the fore that over 20%...

-Down to Earth Prevalence of underweight children down from 76 to 43 per cent for boys, 74 to 42 per cent for girls over past four decades, says National Nutrition Monitoring Bureau Food intake of people in rural India has been declining over the past four decades, but the status of nutrition among children has improved over this period. This was revealed in third repeat survey by National Nutrition Monitoring...

-The Hindu Bangalore: The government has identified 15 basic amenities to enhance quality of life in villages. It has asked gram panchayats (GPs) to make all these facilities available to the people. These include drinking water, playgrounds and open-air theatres. The move is aimed at arresting the migration of rural people towards urban areas. In a circular issued last week, the Rural Development and Panchayat Raj (RDPR) Department said of the 6.11...

-The Economic Times NEW DELHI: With paddy arrivals yet to pick up across Punjab, the state government now plans to make direct payments to farmers. The move is aimed to protect farmer's interest particularly the small and marginal from being exploited by the commission agents/arthiyas. The issue of direct procurement and payment to farmers had been delayed for several years with both the Congress ruled and Akali-BJP government not keen to upset...