-The Hindu Is it possible to get a good yield without using chemical fertilizers? Will a shift to organic affect our food security? Can we manage insect pests without using pesticides? Will organic cultivation still be profitable for farmers? These are some of the often asked questions by farmers when problems of modern agriculture are being discussed. Enabavi, a small village in Warangal district, Andhra Pradesh promises to answer all these. Situated off...

-Tehelka.com The media went on a overdrive and misreported facts. Hundreds of children fell sick in the last two weeks in Haryana, Delhi and Maharashtra after consuming iron and folic acid supplements given to them under under state sponsored programmes to combat anemia. Though the authorities later clarified that mild side-effects like abdominal pain and nausea were expected - there are few takers for this explanation, especially in the backdrop of the...

-Frontline Professor Sukhpal Singh, a faculty member of the Centre for Management of Agriculture at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, has been researching and documenting the process of contract farming and food supply chains in India for more than a decade. He is of the view that the small farmer is being excluded in the method currently in place, which defeats the very purpose of improving Indian agriculture. Sukhpal Singh,...

-The Economic Times The latest round of NSS - the 68th employment-unemployment round - brings good news for jobs. The data for 2011-12 shows that total employment in the economy has risen from 460.2 million in 2009-10 to 472.9 million in just two years. This is good news compared to the previous five-year period that saw an increase of only 2.5 million jobs over 2004-05 and 2009-10. Another piece of good news...

-ANI Ahluwalia appreciated the State Government for strategy to make growth more inclusive and giving right priority to social sector The Planning Commission has approved an annual plan outlay of Rs 47,000 crore for Karnataka for the year 2013-14. The plan size was finalized in a meeting between Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia and Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah here last evening. The plan size has been agreed at Rs. 47,000 crore...