-PTI May 23 notification not “to influence food habits, or affect slaughtering business”, the Union Environment Minister says. The government on Sunday said it was open to suggestions from various groups on the May 23 cattle slaughter notification and was not viewing it as a prestige issue. Speaking to reporters here, Environment Minister Harsh Vardhan said the intention behind the notification was not to harm any particular group, influence food habits or affect...

-The Hindu Meeting between CM and dealers held, Rs. 16,000 for those with 350 cards THIRUVANANTHAPURAM (Kerala): The minimum wages for ration dealers has been fixed at Rs. 16,000. A press note issued here said this was applicable to dealers with 350 cards. This was decided at a meeting between Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and ration dealers on Wednesday. Meeting The Chief Minister’s meeting was called to finalise the wages that will accrue to...

-Livemint.com Pinarayi Vijayan declared in Kozhikode that Kerala has become the first state in the country to provide electricity to every home Bengaluru: Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan Monday said the state has become the first in the country to provide electricity to every home. The state already had 10% of households in every village electrified, which is the norm to get the title “total electrified” by the central government. But the ruling...

-IANS The environment ministry, on May 26, modified the rules to prevent cruelty to animals, making it mandatory to ensure that cattle are not bought or sold for slaughtering. The Centre is understood to be having a rethink on its order restricting the sale of animals, including cows and buffaloes, for slaughter following the stiff opposition from some states, including Kerala. The government is likely to exempt buffaloes from the ‘no slaughter’ list,...

Much to our surprise, a careful relook at the newly released estimates on farm production from the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare would reveal that the foodgrain production during the rabi season is likely to fall by almost 1 million tonne between 2013-14 and 2016-17. Please see chart-1. Amidst the celebration of a bumper harvest in the ongoing crop year, it needs to be explained why the rabi foodgrain output...