-DNA   Water scarcity is the main reason behind the suicide of farmers according to an approach paper on the 12th Five Year Plan (2012 to 2017) prepared by two Tamil Nadu-based experts. According to the National Crime Records Bureau, one farmer commits suicide every 30 minutes. The main cause of these suicides is non-availability of water at the initial stage of the crops leading to the ruining of crops and the subsequent...

August is usually the preferred month fo­r family holidays in Eu­­rope, because of ab­­undant sunshine and warm weather. In India, normally, this is the south-west monsoon season and a busy period for farmers. This year, ho­wever, several farm families in coastal Andhra Pradesh, the ri­ce bowl of the country, are repo­rted to have declared ‘crop holiday’. This is because the rice mills have not been lifting even last years’ crop....

-PTI   Monsoon on Wednesday continued to wreak havoc as heavy rains triggered floods, landslides and claimed at least twelve lives in northern and eastern India. Eight persons were killed in Uttar Pradesh, two each in West Bengal and Meghalaya, official reports said. Heavy downpours left eight persons dead in Uttar Pradesh where major rivers are on the verge of flooding hundreds of villages. The release of flood waters from Nepal has worsened the situation...

-Reuters   India's monsoon rains revived in rice, oilseeds, lentils and cereals growing areas over the past week, weather office sources said on Thursday, snapping a two-week long lull and improving output prospects for the summer sown crops. Last year, rainfall was 26 percent below normal in the week to Aug 11 after a weak start, but it picked up during the four-month season and ended normal. It is expected that this year's rains...

The Union Government has announced that it would bring the Lokpal Bill in the monsoon session of Parliament which is expected to pass it in the winter session. The all-party meeting held on the Lokpal issue damned the civil society and passed a one-line resolution: “The all-party meeting agreed that the government should bring before the next session of Parliament a strong and effective Lokpal Bill following established procedures.” The...