-Hindustan Times Preparations for the three-day Art of Living event on the banks of Yamuna have reportedly forced Birds to migrate from the area. New Delhi: As the site has been cleared of all bushes and vegetation, species such as larks, pipits, warblers and other rare Birds found in this zone are rapidly disappearing because of the destruction of the riverine habitat. The World Culture Festival (WCF) being organised by the Art of...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: The Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana, a pet project of the Prime Minister, has found few takers in its second phase with only 32 of over 750 MPs identifying panchayats to adopt: 24 from the Lok Sabha and six from the Rajya Sabha. Some sent in entries after the January 31 deadline. Narendra Modi adopted Nagepur, a village in his Varanasi Lok Sabha constituency on February 17. In the...

-Hindustan Times New Delhi: A clutch of pesticides that could be carcinogenic and banned in many countries will continue their run in India, though a government panel has recently decided to ban 18 insect killers hazardous to human health and prohibited abroad. This is the first time a decision to ban such a big number of pesticides was taken. There are 261 pesticides registered in India but only 28 had been banned...

-Hindustan Times Birhor Tola (Ranchi): A 45-year-old tribal villager, Paklu Birhor, and his companions forage a forest in the Jonha valley, barely 40km from the Jharkhand capital, every day at the crack of dawn for wild edible roots and herbs. On a lucky day, they return home with game — rabbit, monkey, boar or Birds. They count themselves fortunate if they stumble upon the carcass of a wild or domestic animal. These...

-Business Standard In November, the government decides to transfer Rs 4.5 a quintal production incentive to bank accounts of sugarcane farmers Two months ago, the Centre after much deliberation decided to transfer Rs 4.50 a quintal directly into the bank accounts of sugarcane growers. The government called this a production incentive, but it is seen by many as an attempt to kill several Birds with one stone. An incentive directly transferred into the...