Punjab’s agricultural sector grew at 1.6 per cent during the 11th Plan against the national average of 3.41 per cent. The growth is tardy owing to near saturation in productivity. The rural debts in Punjab are estimated to be Rs 35,000 crore. The number of indebted rural households in Punjab is 66 per cent, third highest in the country after Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. The Government of India’s debt...

-PTI Irked by misuse of subsidy, the Centre has directed state governments to take firm steps to curb illegal diversion of fertilisers like urea to non-farm sectors, especially in Gujarat, Maharashtra and Haryana. "Instances of illegal diversion of fertilisers to other industries has come to our notice. We have written to chief secretaries of the states for initiating action against persons involved in smuggling of fertilisers with the help of central/state enforcement...

-The Hindustan Times A US court has ruled that neither Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) nor its former chairman Warren Anderson were liable for environmental remediation (reversing or stopping environmental damage) or pollution-related claims by those living around its now-defunct plant in Bhopal, where a gas leak in 1984 killed thousands of people. US district judge John Keenan in Manhattan on Tuesday dismissed a lawsuit by Bhopal residents seeking to hold UCC, which...

-The Telegraph Nearly three-fourths of India’s land area received poor rainfall during the first four weeks of the monsoon season, and an active monsoon phase is unlikely within the next week, weather scientists said today. The poor rainfall has stirred concern among agro-meteorology scientists, tasked with translating weather information into advisories for farmers throughout the year, as the period for paddy transplantation draws closer. “Rain during July is always crucial, but this year...

-The Telegraph   A US court has ruled that neither Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) nor its former chairman Warren Anderson were liable for environmental remediation or pollution-related claims arising out of the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy, dismaying survivors and the NGOs fighting for justice. Manhattan district judge John Keena on Tuesday dismissed a lawsuit filed by Bhopal survivor Janki Bai Sahu and others accusing the UCC of causing soil and water pollution around...