-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Dengue, the mosquito-borne disease which hits India hard every year, is estimated to cost the world a whopping $8.9 billion annually. That's higher than many major infectious diseases including cholera, canine rabies and rotavirus gastroenteritis, medical journal Lancet has said quoting a new study. India shares a significant burden of the total cost. Last year, when there was an unusual surge in dengue cases in India...

-CivilSocietyOnline.com Bhubaneswar: Basanti Bhoi cultivates two gardens of betel leaves all by herself at Dhanahara village  in Odisha. A year or two ago, a woman farming betel leaves would have been unthinkable. An age-old tradition barred women from entering betel enclosures. But today women in the district can grow betel leaves and work as labour in a betel garden. It is a social revolution brought about by Radio Kisan, a community radio...

-The Hindu Business Line Both the UDF and LDF now swear by organic farming, and have listed it prominently in their manifestoes. Kochi: Organic farming is growing big in the Kerala Assembly election campaign. Both the ruling UDF and opposition LDF now swear by organic farming, particularly of vegetables and fruits, and have listed it prominently in their manifestoes. On the one hand, the UDF is promising heavy subsidies and an Organic Farming...

-The Hindu Drought has devastated once-prosperous Latur. In this two-part series Sharad Vyas (text) and Vivek Bendre (photographs) report from the parched district. Latur: The water train chugging into Latur last week captured national attention. But it took the spotlight away from the daily struggle of lakhs of people facing the immediate consequences of extended drought and acute water scarcity in Latur district. The vagaries of nature have already taken their toll:...

-The Hindu Business Line The priority for this government is to promote the medical care market, not ensure universal healthcare for the majority Those at the helm of policymaking in the country have been, for some time, strongly advocating austerity as the principle for public expenditure policies, particularly for the social sectors. Arvind Panagariya, the vice-chairperson of the NITI Aayog, suggests that “for just three-quarters of a per cent of the GDP”, 0.76...