-The Hindu   Rice, a major crop in Andhra Pradesh, is cultivated using water from borewells, tanks or open wells. Since the crop grows in standing water ground water depletion is usually high especially during summer. In addition to the water shortage, non-availability of labour on time is also increasing the cost of production, forcing farmers to give up rice cultivation citing low productivity and high labour costs as reasons. Different approach A different look...

-The Hindustan Times   Minority-run schools cannot be forced to implement the Right to Education Act, 2009, that mandates 25% reservation for economically disadvantaged children in all schools, the Supreme Court ruled. A five-judge constitution bench headed by CJI RM Lodha clarified that a 2010 judgement, which held that the RTE Act, 2009 was applicable to aided minority schools was "not correct". "In our view, if the 2009 Act is made applicable to minority...

-The New Indian Express   Sambalpur (Odisha): The district will adopt integrated farming system in rain-fed areas of the district under National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA) from the current kharif season. NMSA is one of the eight missions outlined under National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC). It aims at enhancing agriculture productivity, especially in rain-fed areas, by focusing on integrated farming, efficient use of water and soil health management. Sources said...

-The Indian Express   Mortality rate is declining but not enough to meet Millennium Development Goal. India accounts for the maximum number of maternal deaths in the world - 17 per cent or nearly 50,000 of the 2.89 lakh women who died as a result of complications due to pregnancy or childbearing in 2013. Nigeria is second with nearly 40,000, stated the UN report on maternal deaths released on Tuesday. In contrast, China -...

-The United Nations   Releasing new statistics today, the United Nations International Telecommunications Union (ITU) announced that by end 2014, there will be nearly three billion Internet users - two-thirds of them from the developing world - with mobile-broadband penetration approaching 32 per cent. "The newly released ICT [information and communications technology] figures confirm once again that information and communication technologies continue to be the key drivers of the information society," said Hamadoun...