-Hindustan Times India’s June-September monsoon, the lifeblood of Asia’s third-largest economy, will most likely be “deficient” this year with the met department downgrading its forecast from 93% to 88%, earth sciences minister Harsh Vardhan said on Tuesday.   The India Meteorological Department’s (IMD) revision -- which had forecast “below normal” monsoon in April -- will potentially toughen challenges for the Narendra Modi government already battling a farm crisis triggered by unseasonal rains in...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: If a police officer in your area doesn't work efficiently and has an offensive attitude, it is because he is overworked, a new study has said. The study, 'National Requirement of Manpower for 8-hour Shift in Police Stations', carried out by Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPRD) and Administrative Staff College of India (ASCI) has found that 90% of police officers work for more than...

-The Economic Times KOCHI: Hit by a slump in prices of tea and rubber, the plantation industry in Kerala has suggested a series of measures including a three year moratorium on taxes, a single window clearance system for diversification projects under the permission to use 5% land for activities other than plantations and purchase of one lakh kg of tea a week from Kochi auctions by the Kerala State Civil Supplies...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: The Union agriculture ministry is probing the circumstances under which a senior government scientist purportedly tried to malign vaccines used to protect livestock from foot-and-mouth disease outbreaks that can threaten India's milk yields. An expert panel from the Indian Council of Agricultural Research has told the agriculture ministry that Bhoj Raj Singh, a microbiologist at an ICAR research centre, has "caused damage" to the reputation of India's foot-and-mouth...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: School education secretary Vrinda Sarup today voiced concern over the reduced allocation in funds for the midday-meal programme, saying she hoped the finance ministry would restore the budget for something that has helped bring back children to school. "Dialogues are on. We hope the MDM (scheme) would be protected," Sarup told a media conference organised to present the achievements of the human resource development ministry over the past...