-The Hindu Business Line Accumulated stocks of skimmed milk powder insulate consuMers from price hike Ahmedabad/ Bengaluru: The drought and heat wave across many States has impacted milk production, thereby affecting procurement by dairy co-operatives and private players. In the key milk-producing States of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, the procurement of liquid milk has dropped 20-50 per cent, which is more than the usual seasonal decline witnessed during sumMer. Experts blamed it...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The Central Information Commission on Wednesday issued show cause notices to five national parties - BJP, CPI, CPM, NCP and BSP - for non-compliance of its 2013 order, even as it gave Congress four weeks to respond. The full bench of the commission has given the six parties time till June 20. In its 2013 order, the CIC had recognised parties as public authorities and directed...

-The Tribune Chandigarh: While Punjab is increasingly increasing using canal water for drinking on account of high toxicity in the ground water, it will now pump out this water for irrigation purposes. The new tubewell connections – 1.25 lakh - will not just deplete the state’s already depleted water table, but water pumped up from these tubewells pose a risk of contaminating the food grains and vegetables grown in the fields. Sources in...

-The Hindu Intellectual property accelerates innovation in certain technology sectors, but it impedes innovation in others. The biggest flaw of the new policy is that it does not acknowledge this. Intellectual property (IP) regimes suffer a classic paradox. While they attempt to encourage innovation and creativity, they have themselves been shielded from innovation experimentation. For some years now, India has been attempting to break this mould and craft a regime to suit...

-The Asian Age The Supreme Court on Friday directed the Centre and state governments not to hide behind the “smokescreen of lack of funds” and ordered wide-ranging relief for drought-affected people in 12 states. These include mid-day meals during the sumMer vacation, addition of egg or milk to the mid-day meal menu, to universalise foodgrain rations and ensure adequate and timely release of funds for NREGA. It also ordered implementation of...