-The Indian Express Every October, the air quality in Delhi, Punjab and Haryana plummets as farmers set the leftover stubble and loose straw on fire after paddy is harvested using combines. And this time, too, the smoke signals from the fields are ominous Ambala, Karnal, Patiala: “A matchbox costs just Rs 2, you know,” says Ram Pal Rana, as he collects and piles up dry straw on one side of his...

-The Hindu “Global warming is likely to reach 1.5°C between 2030 and 2052 if it continues to increase at the current rate” New Delhi: “Limiting global warming to 1.5ºCelcius would require rapid, far-reaching and unprecedented changes in all aspects of society," the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) said in a new assessment made public on Monday. The Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5ºC was approved by the IPCC on Saturday in...

-The Telegraph A commission source said the same restrictions could in future be applied to the Centre if Parliament is dissolved before its term ends The Election Commission on Thursday imposed on caretaker governments in states restrictions similar to those in force when the model code of conduct for polls is in place, almost a month after the Telangana Assembly was prematurely dissolved. A commission source said the same restrictions could in future...

-The Hindu Message that mob action will invite ‘wrath of law’ to start on TV, radio in a week: Govt. tells SC The Centre on Monday assured the Supreme Court that the Union and State Governments would, within a week, start broadcasting on radio and TV a stern message that mob lynchings and violence would invite the “wrath of law”. The Centre’s promise came in response to a query by a Bench...

-Livemint.com While farmers will receive a 12% penal interest payment for delays in settling claims, State Governments will be penalised if they delay in depositing their share of subsidies New Delhi: Faced with a sharp decline in the number of farmers signing up for its flagship crop insurance scheme, the centre on Tuesday imposed a 12% penalty on insurance companies for delayed settlement of claims. Under the new guidelines that will take effect...