-The Times of India YAVATMAL: A 20-year-old youth attacked social worker and RTI activist Digambar Pajgade (52) with a sharp weapon on Tuesday morning and injured him. Passersby rushed Pajgade toGovernment Medical College, where he was admitted in the emergency ward. The attacker inflicted deep wounds on the head of Pajgade, a resident of local JAMankar Nagar. The attacker, Mayur Vadafale, a resident of village Wagapur, fled the spot after throwing the...

-The Hindu   The absence of a comprehensive rehabilitation policy for surrendered militants has made life hellish for those who decided to give themselves up and join the mainstream JAMmu & Kashmir's first "Surrender Policy" was floated by Governor Gen. (retd.) K.V. Krishna Rao's administration in 1995. It was almost identical to the policies introduced for militants involved in the North East and Naxalite insurgencies: Rs.1.5 lakh worth of fixed deposit receipts payable...

-The Hindu Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh made it clear on Friday that two of his ambitious projects - Umeed for empowerment of women and Himayat for capacity building and employment of youth - would be soon extended to all 143 rural development blocks in JAMmu and Kashmir. Buoyed by massive response in the four blocks, two each in Kashmir and JAMmu divisions, Mr. Ramesh is now planning dovetailing of the...

-The Indian Express Amritsar: Hours before it was due to open in theatres Friday, the Punjab government banned a controversial Punjabi film, Sadda Haq, which focuses on the era of militancy in the state, and attributed the decision to the need to maintain communal harmony. But the move has stoked a fresh controversy with the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, which is controlled by the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal and had helped the...

-The Hindu A NABARD survey says middlemen funded by banks have kept growers captive to high-interest loans JAMmu: Kashmir's acres of undulating apple orchards may soon be waste lands, a survey by the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) accessed by The Hindu shows. The Rs. 4,000-crore industry has been brought to its knees by a network of middle-order market functionaries comprising pre-harvest contractors (PHCs), commission agents (CAs) and wholesalers...