-The New Indian Express The government had earlier said all 10.74 crore households categorised as deprived in the SECC 2011 would benefit from the scheme. NEW DELHI: Families that earn more than Rs 10,000 a month, or own a refrigerator or a two-wheeler, among other amenities, won’t be able to benefit from the Modi government’s ambitious health insurance scheme. The National Health Agency (NHA), responsible for implementing the Ayushman Bharat - Pradhan...

-The Indian Express Every October, the air quality in Delhi, Punjab and Haryana plummets as farmers set the leftover stubble and loose straw on fire after paddy is harvested using combines. And this time, too, the smoke signals from the fields are ominous Ambala, Karnal, Patiala: “A matchbox costs just Rs 2, you know,” says Ram Pal Rana, as he collects and piles up dry straw on one side of his...

-Firstpost.com Ludhiana: North India’s smog problem — a cause of much tension between states — seems to have left politicians, farmers and even experts stumped. In Punjab, the government’s measures to tackle stubble-burning have reaped little dividend, as the farmers, many of them debt-ridden, say that at the end of the harvesting season, they are still left with no option but to set paddy straw on fire in order to clear their...

-Firstpost.com Late sowing, lack of government incentive to remove stubble mechanically have often led farmers in Punjab and Haryana to burn paddy stubble during autumn to immediately prepare the fields for wheat cultivation. Consequently, the stubble burning occurs on such a huge scale that it even engulfs Delhi in a canopy of smog: thus causing serious pollution for days and health issues. Ludhiana: For two winters, Delhi has made international headlines for...

-The Hindu Contingency plan focusing on alternative crops drawn up VIJAYAWADA (Andhra Pradesh): After declaring 296 mandals as drought affected, the State government has suggested the farmers to cultivate short duration varieties like jowar, horsegram, cowpea, korra, red , green and black gram. Seed distribution The Agriculture department has prepared a contingency plan to handle the situation focusing on alternative crops, supply of sufficient quantities of seed and employment generation work. As part of...