-The Times of India NAGPUR: Talodhi, a village in Chandrapur district, is emerging as a centre for 'rice breeding' in literal sense. Two retired agricultural scientists from city, a big farming family from the village, the Poshattiwars, and some local farmers have joined hands in developing new genetically pure varieties from locally available varieties. It would not be an exaggeration if Poshattiwars and their team of farmers are called 'farmer scientists' as...

-The Indian Express Fifteen-year-old Altaf Hussain crouches effortlessly and heads into what looks like a black hole. Dragging a large wooden cart behind him, he disappears into the gaping darkness within seconds. After what seems like an endless wait but lasts just half an hour, he emerges from the hole with a cart laden with dark, glittering coal. The head of this group of 30 is Abu Kalam Mia. The 27-year-old ‘sardar’,...

-The Indian Express Imphal: After some 80 years of unregulated mining, mostly coal and limestone, the northeastern state of Meghalaya is set to adopt a mineral policy that aims to organise the lucrative sector and boost its performance. The state cabinet approved the Meghalaya Mineral Policy 2010 last month and it is due to be introduced in next month’s state assembly winter session for approval. The state government was forced to act...

-The Indian Express After 14 years, the Central government has held the minimum support price (MSP) for wheat constant at last year’s Rs 1,285 per quintal. There is, of course, still no guarantee that the price will not be changed if major producer states like Punjab and Haryana raise objections. But for now, the UPA government’s newly discovered zeal to push through another reform is heartening. It may also be useful...

-Live Mint All file notings can be made public now except those explicitly exempted  The Union cabinet on Thursday decided to withdraw controversial draft amendments to the Right to Information (RTI) Act that sought to restrict disclosure of government file notings. The move allayed the concerns of rights activists. The draft amendments would have restricted disclosure of file notings only to social and developmental issues. The government had to drop the move following...