-The Times of India NEW DELHI: With the recent murder of RTI activist Bhupendra Vira's, the death toll of those using the transparency law to target corruption and malpractices has gone up to 56. In fact, there has been more than 311 instances of harassment of citizens including murder, attacks and intimidation from the time the law came into force in 2005, according to an analysis by Delhi-based advocacy group CHRI. Reports...

-Deccan Chronicle Residue exceeding permissible levels found in 100 out of 1,920 samples. Visakhapatnam: Andhra Pradesh and Telangana account for a hefty 24 per cent share of pesticide consumption in the country. The two states are grappling with increased pesticide residue in food commodities, while pesticides can help repel insects, pests and other diseases, their excessive/irrational use can lead to health hazards, ecological disturbance and disruption, increased pesticide resistance, etc. The adverse...

-Livemint.com Healthy, living soil is the most essential element in ensuring food security. Yet it is often ignored by policy planners The global population, which stood at 6.1 billion in 2000, is estimated to reach 8.5 billion by 2030 and 9.7 billion in 2050. India has 2.4% of the world’s arable land and more than 17% of the global population. Meeting the demand for fibre and food to feed this growing population...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: In a stark indication of how far India has to go in developing its highway network, latest official statistics reveal that around 78% of national highways are either one or two-lane affairs. One third are less than two lanes, making the task of four-laning India's economic lifelines a challenging endeavour. A report of the road transport and highways ministry also shows that nearly 40%, including rural,...

A recently released report shows that only a few enterprises belonging to the labour-intensive Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector could take advantage of the 205 number of public schemes (available in October 2015) of various Ministries or Departments of the Government, as listed at the website www.clusterobservatory.in.   (Please click here to access the report on MSMEs and the challenges they face). Prepared by the Foundation for MSME Clusters...