-Hindustan Times Ludhiana: Punjab finance minister Parminder Singh Dhindsa may have announced several perks for the agriculture sector, including provident funds for farmers, financial relief to families in which farmers committed suicides and medical insurance as part of the Budget 2016-17 for the state but several agricultural experts and farmers have pointed out all perks are futile without crop insurance. They stressed that if crop of farmers are not insured by the...

-Hindustan Times Heavy rainfall accompanied by hail over the weekend damaged crops in key food-producing states across north and central India, triggering fears of higher food prices amid a deepening nationwide agrarian crisis. A good crop was a must this season for the sustenance of farmers who suffered because of unseasonal rainfall in March-April last year followed by a drought that reduced output of summer crops. A good yield was expected this...

-The Hindu   Karnataka secures third position while Gujarat stands fifth, according to survey   Poll-bound States Kerala and Tamil Nadu secured first and second ranking in public affairs index (PAI) in governance in States, while Bihar, Jharkhand and Odisha are lagging on this front, a latest survey of think-tank Public Affairs Centre (PAC), Bengaluru, has revealed. Karnataka secured third position while Gujarat stood fifth. Karnataka secured top position among all States in the...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: The Supreme Court today chided the Delhi government for "resting in AC chambers" while expecting the judiciary to hand it a solution to the capital's water crisis "on a platter". Bearing the brunt was Delhi water minister Kapil Mishra, whose government has sought an apex court directive to the Centre and Haryana to restore water supply from Haryana's Munak canal, which the Jat protesters have allegedly damaged. Chief Justice...

-Business Standard Keeps records of deliberations and biosafety data under lock Keeping its agenda, records of discussions and results of safety trials under wraps, the environment ministry’s Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) is set to decide next week whether it is safe to commercially grow genetically modified mustard. The committee is scheduled to meet on February 5 and could make a final recommendation on what could be India’s first commercially-grown genetically modified...