-The Indian Express While procurement from SC/ST enterprises was way below target in 2013-14, that from all MSEs was much better at Rs 12,440.76 crore or 15.30 per cent of the total PSU procurement during the year. The first comprehensive survey of procurement undertaken by public sector undertakings (PSUs) from micro and small enterprises (MSEs) promoted by Dalit (Scheduled Castes/ Scheduled Tribes) entrepreneurs showed that their supplies were just Rs 419.37...

-Tehelka The NDA government’s move to open more Jan Aushadhi stores ignores the multitude of issues currently plaguing them Amidst the jostling crowd at the Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital in Shahdara, Delhi, is 68-year-old Suresh Chandra, holding his medical files on one hand and prescription letter on the other. Chandra, who is a lung disease patient, moves towards the Jan Aushadhi store, situated in the hospital premises. Chandra hopes that the government-run medical...

-The Hindu These crops can fix atmospheric nitrogen through their root nodules. This reduces the use of chemical fertilisers like urea and ammonium nitrate. At a time when decreasing soil fertility especially due to indiscriminate use of chemical fertilisers and prolonged cultivation of commercial crops has become a cause for concern among farmers, legume vegetables have turned out to be a boon for addressing this issue. Scientists feel that growing the legume vegetables...

-Economic and Political Weekly A categorical distinction is facing rough weather--that between urban and rural. If we take just agriculture, there is so much of the outside world that comes in not just as external markets but as external inputs. Further, many of our villages barely qualify as rural if we were to take occupation alone. So the earlier line that separated the farmer from the worker in towns is slowly...

-The Hindu Grains and vegetables are being grown with the technique used for paddy farming BERHAMPUR: System for Rice Intensification (SRI), a technique of paddy cultivation, is being successfully used for cultivation of other crops including vegetables by small farmers in Ganjam district of Odisha. Typically, the SRI is used for paddy cultivation to increase yield. But for the past few years the same technique is being used to increase the harvest of...