-The Hindu Data from Census 2011 show that the tally is higher than the national figure of 13.17 per cent. Over 16 per cent of the households in the State are headed by women, data from Census 2011 recently released by the office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India show. The percentage of households headed by women in the State is higher than the 13.17 per cent reported at the...

-The Hindu Business Line Bidding process apace to select insurance firms for Fasal Bima Yojana New Delhi: The Centre’s flagship crop insurance scheme, Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, is likely to be rolled out in several parts of the country by next month as the bidding process for selecting insurance companies is over in at least ten States and a Union Territory and many others are in the midst of it. All top...

-The Financial Express In a bid to curb pilferage of foodgrains in the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS), the Centre on Saturday asked the states to opt for Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) under which the subsidy component is credited to bank accounts and allows the beneficiaries to buy foodgrains from the market. However, for implementing DBT, the states must complete digitisation of beneficiary list and seed bank account details for fund transfer....

-The Hindu States asked to exempt pulses from Value Added Tax and other local levies to control prices The government is considering banning futures trading in chana dal (brown chickpeas) and reducing import duty on sugar as part of its efforts to rein in inflation, according to a top official. Higher food prices, led by pulses and sugar, pushed wholesale price inflation into positive territory in April after 17 months of decline while...

-The Telegraph Calcutta: A young man who flew in from Delhi for 16 hours just to cast his vote has provided a clue why Bengal has recorded the highest number of votes under the Nota (none of the above) option among the five poll-bound states. The man in his 30s, who works with a global watchmaker, said he spent Rs 20,000 on air tickets to cast a Nota vote because not one...