-The Economic Times Brands may be spending million to promote an eco-friendly-image, but when it comes to actual sales, organic and 'planet-friendly' products have failed to move cash registers for retailers, whether it's fresh produce, groceries or even clothing. Top food retailers like Future Group, Reliance Retail and Spencer's Retail say sales from organic Vegetables, fruit and food products account for less than 2 per cent of total food sales, even three...

-Kashmir Times If psychologist Ashis Nandy had planned to ignite a potentially ugly controversy at the Jaipur Literary Festival, he couldn't have done better than by insinuating intimate links between corruption and Dalits, Adivasis and Other Backward Classes. After warning that he was about to make a "very undignified" and "almost vulgar" statement, "which will shock you", Nandy said: "It is a fact that most of the corrupt come from the...

-The Guardian By shunning all but organic farming techniques, the Himalayan state will cement its status as a paradigm of sustainability Bhutan plans to become the first country in the world to turn its agriculture completely organic, banning the sales of pesticides and herbicides and relying on its own animals and farm waste for fertilisers. But rather than accept that this will mean farmers of the small Himalayan kingdom of 1.2 million people...

-The Economic Times AHMEDABAD: Insufficient rains during Monsoon has dropped Rabi acreage to a three year low of 29.3 lakh hectare, reveal state government data. The sowing is about 18% lesser than 37.35 lakh hectare in the previous Rabi season. This is second year in succession that winter sowing has declined. The kharif acreage in 2012 had also dropped by 7% to 81.71 lakh hectare because of rains that were about 27%...

-The Economic Times Come February 4 and all eateries in the country-from restaurant chains such as KFC and McDonalds to restaurants within hotels like Bukhara and Swagath to even school canteens and corporate cafeterias-will need a 'food business operator' licence from central food authority Food Safety and Standards Authority of India to operate. The authority plans to randomly check food joints across the country after the February 4 deadline for obtaining the...