-The Indian Express This July, I spoke with a farmer in Angul district, Odisha. During the kharif season, most of his 45-acre farm is devoted to paddy, but during the rabi season, he grows a variety of pulses, oilseeds and vegetables. He is currently president of the village watershed committee, working to implement an impressive programme to halt soil erosion and water runoff. He pointed out newly constructed contour and farm...

-The Hindu Chennai: There is accumulating evidence in India that pollution and contamination are becoming a serious public health issue, which requires focussed strategies to mitigate. "Environment in India is not a lifestyle issue. The missing dimension in the environment debate is the public health debate. One way of getting a larger political focus for environmental issues would be to pitch it as a public health issue," said Jairam Ramesh, former Union...

-The Hindu Business Line They drop out on account of cultural taboos and lack of follow up efforts by implementing agencies Despite opportunities and systematic community-driven handholding support from the Government and non-government bodies, women might still choose not to participate in the economic development process. Under the purview of the National Rural Livelihoods Mission, the world's largest poverty alleviation initiative, the Government and NGOs are targeting women from the poorest households...

-The Hindustan Times The government plans to put up coal mines for bidding by private steel, power and cement companies and introduce changes in the law to enable commercial mining in the future, signalling its intent to fully open the sector to private players. The new auction-based system will replace the earlier controversial policy of allotting coal blocks based on recommendations of a panel of bureaucrats, which the Supreme Court had struck...

-The Times of India VISAKHAPATNAM: Researchers of Gitam University's food science and technology department have successfully registered a patent for millet rich biscuits. The researchers -- Layam Anitha, M M Krishna and Pooja Mandlik -- worked on developing the millet rich biscuits under the project named 'Millet Delight'. The trio also named their patented biscuits the same. The research team said that at the present most of the products available in the...