Situation alarming: More than one-third population hit by drought   The country is facing severe drought for the second consecutive year. Conservative estimates from official sources show that over a quarter of rural habitations are facing drinking water scarcity. Although both India Meteorological Department and Skymet have predicted a more than normal rainfall during June-September, 2016, the water storage available in 91 major reservoirs of the country has declined from 22 percent...

-Hindustan Times With progressively increasing severity of rising temperatures and rain deficits over two consecutive years – 2014 and 2015, the Great Indian Drought was always coming. The India Meteorological Department, ministry of home affairs, the ministry of water resources, the Ministry of agriculture and farmers welfare office, and the National Disaster Management Authority knew it. The question is, what did we do with this knowledge? Six hundred million of India’s 1.2 billion...

-The Hindu The U.P. government will now provide farmers a grant of Rs. 1,500 per quintal in the Kharif season and Rs. 800 per quintal in the Rabi season. Lucknow: To help farmers recover from successive crop losses in drought-affected bundelkhand, the Uttar Pradesh government is encouraging them to increase the cultivation of oilseeds, especially sesame (til), in the coming Kharif season. The State has increased subsidy on oilseeds. The government will now...

-Business Standard At end-April, foodgrain stock in the pool was estimated at 36.95 mn tonnes, 6.7% more than at the same time last year As a drought and drinking water crisis grips several states, the food stock position in the central pool seems to be among the few comfort factors for the government. At end-April, foodgrain stock in the pool was estimated at 36.95 million tonnes, 6.7 per cent more than at the...

-The Hindu Swaraj Abhiyan is seeking to create awareness of the SC judgment and citizen’s entitlements. Latur: It’s a quarter past seven in the morning in the small village of Khandapur in Latur district. In the small window of time before the pleasant morning sun turns into unforgiving heat, a small group of people are gathered in a street next to the gram panchayat office. A group of volunteers from the Yogendra Yadav-led...