A relief of Rs 94.93 crore will be paid to farmers whose crops were damaged in the recent floods in Haryana. This figure has been calculated as per the state norms on the basis of damage to crops assessed through a special girdawari. This was revealed at a meeting of the state-level committee constituted to administer the Haryana Calamity Relief Fund, which was chaired by Chief Secretary Urvashi Gulati here today. She directed...

Thanks to a fairly good Southwest Monsoon, the total area under kharif crops in the ongoing sowing season is 8.33 million hectares, higher than last year. According to the Agriculture Ministry, against an area of 92.3 million hectares this season, the coverage was 83.97 million hectares in the corresponding period last year. The area under paddy is higher by about seven per cent. Against 27.6 million hectares sown last year, this year so...

For your sake, and earth’s sake, have fish instead of mutton. If you are truly climate-friendly, go bananas. According to a study that analysed greenhouse gas emissions associated with a set of common Indian food items, fish is a superior alternative to mutton, not just for humans but also for the planet’s health, while bananas are the most climate-friendly. The study, by scientists at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), New Delhi,...

After failing to come anywhere near the 10th Five Year Plan (2002-07) target of 4 per cent per annum rate of growth of agricultural output, the Planning Commission has projected a lower target growth rate of 3 to 3.5 per cent per annum for the 11th Plan period. While some may view this as a more modest target, others may consider it as still far too ambitious, given the track...

Amipur may be a small dot along the national highway from Patna to Nawada, but its ambitions are big. In the 50-odd households in the village, sparsely populated and rife with an uneasy quiet, most men have left for work outside Bihar. Siyaram Chauhan is the one who returned. He was rescued last month by the state government officials from a brick kiln in Uttar Pradesh’s Bahraich where he worked as...