-Frontline Two draft Bills on the Tribal Sub-Plan and the Scheduled Caste Sub-Plan raise hopes of granting these decades-old schemes statutory status and ensuring allocation of funds in the Central and State budgets for their implementation. IN a significant legislative move, the Union government's Ministry of Tribal Affairs released a draft Bill for the implementation of the long-neglected Tribal Sub-Plan (TSP), a special programme mandated by the Planning Commission to benefit the...

-Outlook Mumbai: To empower women under the National Rural Livelihood Mission, there is a need to link women's self help groups (WSHGs) to banks, Union Minister for Rural Development Jairam Ramesh said. Ramesh, who was in Mumbai to attend an event 'Maharashtra State Rural Livelihood Forum' organised by the state government, said the objective of the mission shall not be limited to forming SHGs under the mission but it is necessary to...

-The Hindu Experts say people can keep diseases away if they consume millets Guntur (Andhra Pradesh): The two-day Millet Festival - 2014, aimed at popularising consuming low fat and high fibre millet began at Gunta Grounds here on Saturday. The festival is being held for the first time in districts outside Hyderabad in a bid to promote consumption of millet. Minister for Agriculture Kanna Lakshminarayana, Commissioner of Agriculture K. Madhusudhan Rao and College...

-Deccan Herald The National Biodiversity Authority has recognised 30 villages in Zaheerabad of Medak district of Andhra Pradesh that grow traditional and fast-disappearing millets as Agricultural Biodiversity Heritage Site (ABHS). The Andhra Pradesh State Biodiversity Board (APSBB), which finally gave green signal for the rare recognition, has sent its recommendation to the National Biodiversity Board, which has approved the proposal making these villages to become first villages in India...

-The Hindustan Times Mumbai: The adverse effects of climate change are being felt on more than a fourth of India's landmass over the last four decades. While some parts of the country have turned arid, others have witnessed more rainfall. A study by the Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture (CRIDA) at Hyderabad has revealed that about 27% of the country's geographical area has been directly impacted by climate change, a result...