-Firstpost.com Chandigarh: With the planting of the new paddy crop underway in Punjab, Balour Singh of Sangrur district's Channa village is worried about the hourly fee of Rs 150 he needs to pay his neighbour for supplying water to his fields. Being a marginal farmer, Singh doesn't own a borewell and has to depend on others for water, which is something his paddy crop needs in plenty. But water isn't Balour Singh's...

-Caravandaily.com Petitioner PUCL has also sought compensation to victims’ families. NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court of India on Monday asked the Uttar Pradesh government to file a detailed report on the police shootouts in which more than 50 people have been killed in the last one year. A bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra has sought response in two weeks from the Uttar Pradesh government of Yogi Adityanath on a petition of...

-The Indian Express Loss of mature trees cannot be made up by planting new ones. Forest Department shows how not to grow a forest. In the spontaneous protests that have erupted in Delhi over the felling of over 16,000 trees in government redevelopment yards, the response from the authorities seems to be: The numbers are exaggerated and, in any case, we’ll plant more trees than are being felled. In a city with the...

-Firstpost.com Chandigarh: With extensive rice farming in Punjab taking an increasing toll on groundwater reserves and soil health, government agencies are now asking farmers to diversify into profitable allied trades including dairy and pig farming and fisheries. Farmers are also being asked to cultivate crops other than paddy. Farmers in different parts of the state have started growing other, more profitable crops alongside rice. In a break with the fertiliser and pesticide-driven...

-Financial Express For sustainable growth, Rural India’s squeezing purchasing Power needs immediate attention New Delhi: The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) unanimous call for a 25-basis-point rate hike after four years was primarily driven by the strengthening core inflation as well as the rising household inflationary expectations. Since the April Monetary Policy Committee meeting, there have been some significant macro developments, mainly on four counts. First, the global crude oil prices have risen...