-The Hindu Business Line Patna is attracting the young from the hinterland to its skilling centres, teaching them English and computer skills At first glance they look like cyber cafés with their bustling young boys and girls. But take a closer look and you will find students busy at their computers picking up English language and software skills. These small centres have popped up across the State Capital in shopping areas and residential...

-Down to Earth Death of cotton farmers due to pesticide poisoning in the Vidarbha region raises vital questions about the government's attitude towards regulation of toxic pesticides One more evil has reared its ugly head in Maharashtra’s arid Vidarbha region, which has so far been infamous for farmer suicides. Some 35 farmers in the region have died of pesticide poisoning in last four months. Most of them were working in cotton and...

-NDTV The Supreme Court is hearing a case that alleges senior judges were involved in a conspiracy to seek bribes and influence cases. New Delhi: In a sudden hearing on Friday, five judges of the Supreme Court headed by the Chief Justice of India said that he alone has the power to call a constitution bench because he is "master of the roster". In doing so, they cancelled an order passed on...

-The Indian Express The Agriculture Department has meanwhile rushed two ‘Quality Control’ probe teams to Yavatmal and Akola to check if some of the pesticides were spurious. Yavatmal (Maharashra): Devidas Madavi, 57, a farm hand from Kalamb town in Yavatmal district, took up the job of spraying pesticides for the first time this year. By August 19, 12 days after he had used a can to spray pesticides in the cotton fields...

-The Indian Express In zones of prosperity, agriculture faces crisis, jobs are few, social aspirations don’t match economic realities After Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, farmers from Rajasthan came out on the streets demanding loan waiver and implementation of the Swaminathan Committee report. Protesting against government policies and demanding their share in the country’s development, which they argue have been denied to them, the farmers have shown unity across caste and class lines....