-The Times of India MEERUT: Forgotten by most and out in the cold, quite literally, 25 people have died of chill this winter in the Muzaffarnagar camps that continue to house a little over 3,500 riot refugees. TOI visited Muzaffarnagar - Shamli has another 700 refugees - over two days, tabulating a list of the dead and the dates on which they had died, and found that even after they breathed their...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The Madhya Pradesh government wants to turn the ravines of Chambal - a unique geographical feature once infamous for sheltering dacoits - into agriculture fields by levelling the twisting hillocks. Considering the undulating and barren topography, the task of levelling the mud ravines for agriculture seems stupendous, but chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Wednesday formally placed the proposal before the Centre when he met Union...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: The PMO appears to be backing the forest ministry's decision to allow diversion of forestland for linear projects in certain areas without seeking the gram sabha's approval, despite objections raised by the tribal affairs ministry. Although the tribal affairs ministry has strongly protested against the forest ministry's notification of October 28, 2014, on the ground that it violated the Forests Rights Act (FRA), its effort to issue a...

-The Hindu Implementation in a phased manner: MoHAnan ALAPPUZHA (Kerala): Agriculture Minister K.P. MoHAnan has said that the government is seriously considering a ban on use of chemical fertilizers in the State. He was inaugurating an exhibition-cum-sale of dairy, agricultural, and industrial products organised by the Chengannur block panchayat here on Wednesday evening. Mr. MoHAnan said the government was mulling over implementing the ban in a phased manner from next year. He said a study...

-Business Standard The plan will ensure effective distribution of resources from various schemes Bhubaneswar (Odisha): The agricultural directorate will prepare a resource allocation plan by end of March 2015, after consulting Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT) and district planning committees. The aim of the plan will be to identify needs to develop farm products yield in each district such as planning to invest in soil preparation, crop diversification or irrigation...