-The United Nations Swaziland’s farmers are beginning to reap the benefits of a UN-backed five-year programme aimed at reversing the country’s declining agricultural productivity, the United Nations Food agency declared today. In a media statement, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) announced that its Swaziland Agricultural Development Project, or SADP, had already begun to have an impact on the lives of the country’s smallholder farmers through a number of training initiatives...

-The Hindu Building ‘capitalism with Indian characteristics’ means decisions cannot ignore concerns of voters and communities As the economy slows down and the rupee wilts, Manmohan Singh has bitten the ‘reforms’ bullet with both eyes on the credit rating agencies whose negative reports have done much to dampen the ‘animal spirits’ of investors, foreign and native. Last November, when the Congress party made a push to introduce foreign direct investment in multi-brand retail,...

-The Times of India MUMBAI: Good cholesterol spells bad news for Mumbaikars. A new survey analyzing risk factors for heart diseases among Indians shows that 54% of Mumbaikars over 30 have low levels of good cholesterol, better known as HDL. Since HDL draws out the body's excess fatty cholesterol molecules and ejects them through the liver, Mumbaikars have a reason to worry. But it isn't only Mumbai. The survey found that across...

-The Economic Times "Are we knowledge-proof?" asked the late Prof Raj Krishna. As memorable as his other coinage, the Hindu rate of growth, this question is relevant, given our current growth strategy. The SME sector is a vibrant part of the economy, accounting for 40% of manufacturing and generating jobson a scale second only to agriculture. The figures are similarly significant for handicrafts and handlooms. According to the Tenth Plan, GDP from handicrafts...

-The Telegraph Fifty-two thousand underprivileged children of Jamshedpur and Gamharia in adjoining Seraikela-Kharsawan went without midday meal on Thursday, a cruel fallout of the Bharat Bandh that forced Jharkhand to stay indoors on Thursday. The success of the bandh meant that either government or aided schools eligible for midday meals stayed shut or BJP workers and other protesters on the road stopped drivers from ferrying Food to cradles from the centralised kitchen...