A new report underlines the benefits of organic farming in the age of climate change While addressing a conference on the National Water Week this week, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh underlined the brewing water crisis. It could as well have been called the ‘National Water Weak’ — for this precious commodity for life is struggling to survive. The maximum blame for wastage of water is often put at the doors of...
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Secret govt note says Bt cotton failing, leading to farmer suicides-Zia Haq
India’s Bt cotton dream is going terribly wrong. For the first time, farmer suicides, including those in 2011-12, have been linked to the declining performance of the much hyped genetically modified (GM) variety adopted by 90% of the country’s cotton-growers since being allowed a decade ago. Policymakers have hailed Bt cotton as a success story but a January 9 internal advisory, a copy of which is with HT, sent out to...
More »Economic Survey: Rural job freeze plan leaves Jairam fuming
-The Economic Times Could the Centre freeze the job guarantee scheme during peak agriculture season? The controversial demand from the agriculture ministry found an echo in the Economic Survey released on Thursday, but was quickly dismissed by rural development minister Jairam Ramesh. While lauding the flagship scheme, the survey listed a few other measures as the way forward. "While the overall performance of MGNREGS has been good, there is scope for improvements...
More »Forest cover fell by 367 sq km in '11
-The Hindu Business Line A total of 15 States registered an aggregate increase of 5,000 sq km in their forest cover while 12 States/Union Territories showed a decrease of 867 sq km. The country recorded a decrease of 367 square km in forest cover last year, compared with 2009, according to India State of Forest Report 2011, released here on Tuesday. The forest and tree cover of the country stands at 78.29 million...
More »Loud no to cash by Raghav Puri
In Chhattisgarh, people swear by the PDS, which has witnessed a revival since 2004 when the government revamped it. IN Chhattisgarh, as part of the survey on public distribution system (PDS) versus cash transfers, a team of student volunteers visited 12 villages spread across Mahasamund and Sarguja districts. The State may have been in the news for all the wrong reasons in recent times, but the way its PDS worked...
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