-The Hindu A farm whether in one acre or a few acres must encompass as many crop varieties as possible and also some animals to be remunerative. "Monocropping (growing only one crop) is now a fading practice among several farmers since they are realising that for their economic safety and better returns it is important to grow additional crops. "In some areas in Madhya Pradesh farmers grow a main crop in a...

-The Indian Express Pre-legislative scrutiny is a first step towards greater transparency in law-making. The committee of secretaries chaired by the CABinet secretary has decided that all bills proposed by the government should go through a process of pre-legislative scrutiny. This follows the recommendation of the National Advisory Council, which had suggested that all bills be taken through this process in order to garner public feedback at an early stage. Let us quickly...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The Delhi government spent Rs 6.33 lakh on Arvind Kejriwal's oath-taking ceremony at Ramlila Maidan while his predecessor Sheila Dikshit's oath ceremony cost Rs 13.04 lakh. In response to a query by Mumbai-based RTI applicant Anil Galgali, the Delhi government's general administration department said it had spent Rs 6.33 lakh on the Ramlila Maidan ceremony. This, however, does not include expenses by other departments including power,...

-The Telegraph Calcutta: The amount of work Bengal has provided under the central 100-day-a-year scheme in 2013-14 is much less than the national average, latest data have shown, swivelling the spotlight on a trend continuing since the Left rule. Although providing work under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) is a focus area of the Mamata Banerjee government, Union rural development ministry data show that Bengal has given...

-Down to Earth Four-day world congress on agroforestry in Delhi pushes for accelerating growing trees on farms for sustainable agriculture and mitigating climate change impacts In what is seen as a ground-breaking move, India has become the first nation in the world to adopt an agroforestry policy. The National Agroforestry Policy, which deals with the practice of integrating trees, crops and livestock on the same plot of land, was launched February 10,...