A State-level agricultural services extension campaign was launched at tribal-dominated Asawata village in Pratapgarh district of Rajasthan on Saturday with a call made to the farmers to get the benefit of seed and fertiliser supply as well as the soil tests. State Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Minister Harjiram Burdak, inaugurating the campaign at the Government Secondary School in the village, said 4,800 quintals of seeds would be distributed free of cost...

IF DISRUPTIONS over phone tapping and the India Premier League controversy had not taken Parliament sessions hostage, the Rajya Sabha may have passed the controversial Seeds Bill in the week of April 26, when it was slated to come up for discussion. The government was keen to give this Bill the force of law as soon as possible because the seed industry wants it. The Seeds Bill originally proposed in 2004...

The decks seem to have been cleared for conducting the census to identify below poverty line (BPL) families with the ministry of rural development deciding to begin the survey next year. In a crucial move, it has allowed the states to suggest criteria for identification to overcome the limitations of the “one-size-fits-all” approach. After a meeting on Wednesday with the panel of experts set up by the ministry, it was decided to...

Today, we have reached a historic milestone in our country's struggle for children's right to education. The Constitution (86th Amendment) Act, 2002, making elementary education a Fundamental Right, and its consequential legislation, the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009, comes into force today. The enforcement of this right represents a momentous step forward in our 100-year struggle for universalising elementary education. Over the years, the demand...

Customs has detained over 1,250 tonnes of wheat imported from Australia in 50 containers at Chennai port. The consignment was found to contain more than permissible levels of pesticide chloropyrifos. Three clearing agents were arrested on charges of attempting to get clearance for the consignment using fake documents. The CBI is also investigating the background of the agents and the importer to find out why they were eager to obtain...