-The Hindu In a move that could significantly alter the nature of professional journalism in the country, Press Council of India (PCI) chairman Justice Markandey Katju has set up a committee to determine the minimum qualification for a journalist. The move has drawn sharp reactions from media practitioners and experts. In a press note issued on Tuesday, Justice Katju stated that in contrast with other professions such as medicine, law and teaching,...

-The Times of India The Manmohan Singh government's mission in a pre-election year seems cut out: To check and roll back retail food inflation that rose from 4% in January last year to 13% in December, a trend that could blight its 2014 poll ratings. With food prices accounting for half of overall inflation, this group stayed above 10% most of last year, higher than the overall consumer price index figure of...

-The Economic Times The government plans to revive cultivation of crops that make Punjab's iconic "makki ki roti and sarson ka saag" -- maize and mustard -- along with horticulture and fodder to breathe life into the stressed soil and the rapidly depleting water table in the green-revolution state. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is pushing hard for crop diversification in Punjab and has appointed an inter-ministerial panel on crop diversification led by Agriculture...

-Outlook Aam Aadmi Party today alleged that the Budget presented by Finance Minister P Chidambaram was a "clever attempt to mislead" public ahead of elections as it offered little remedy for the key problems facing the Indian economy. In a statement, the party claimed that the common man has reasons to feel "disappointed, if not cheated" with the Budget. "The Union Budget presented by the Finance Minister is a clever attempt to mislead...

-The Economic Times It is consoling that despite a deficit of 8% in south-west rainfall during 2012-13 compared to its long period average (LPA), agriculture's contribution to GDP growth is likely to be around 1.8%. It is also good news that the revised figure of agri-GDP for the 11th Plan as a whole is 3.6%, up from 3.3% estimated earlier. Gross capital formation in agriculture as a percentage of agri-GDP has almost...