-The Hindu Focus on short-duration varieties, crop insurance plan Thiruvananthapuram (Andhra Pradesh): With the southwest monsoon playing truant, the government is working on a disaster management plan to help farmers tide over the possibility of crop failure and the consequent loss. The Department of Agriculture is focussing its efforts on the paddy sector, likely to be the worst affected by a poor monsoon. "With the initial monsoon spell tapering off, transplanting paddy shoots...

-Sunday Pioneer A cluster of villages engaged in weaving the exquisite Benarasi sarees is in the midst of a serious health crisis. More than 1 lakh people from this once prosperous region have fallen prey to aggressive tuberculosis. Poor living conditions, working in dark rooms and constant inhalation of minute silk threads have weakened the lungs of these artisans. With an average monthly income of not more than Rs3,000, it is...

-Oryza.com "Golden Rice will certainly be accepted one day. We are only trying to put pressure so it will be accepted earlier than later. Each second of the day a child dies unnecessarily." These are the words of Dr. Patrick Moore, Canadian ecologist and former director of Greenpeace, who is leading a campaign to make Golden Rice acceptable in the EU and across the world. What's surprising about Dr. Moore's words...

-CNN-IBN   Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala): A man in Thiruvananthapuram is on a mission to clean up the Chengottukonam pond in which has become the 'favourite' spot for many to dump waste material. Justin Raj begins each day spending an hour on the banks of the pond inspecting the water. He has to watch out daily for fungus that can harm the fish in it. Justin began the exercise four years ago shelling out Rs...

-The Indian Express Gandaman (Chhapra): Neha Kumari (10) sits on a plastic mat like the other students at Gandaman Middle School. As a cold wind blows in through the open windows, she tightens the scarf around her head. Among the 30-odd students of Class III and IV who share the 20 ft by 20 ft room in the school, it's easy to miss the slight Neha. However, the five teachers including...