-The Asian Age There was a news report not so long ago that ICRISAT (International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics), an international organisation and part of the CGIAR (Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research) consortium, had entered into an agreement with Gubba Cold Storage Ltd. to set up a private seed bank, the first of its kind in India. No details were available of the terms and conditions under...

-The Hindu Though the Union Environment Ministry acknowledges its damage, Uttarakhand's hydroelectric project-driven development agenda remains unchanged Chaaen, a village atop a hill in the picturesque Alaknanda Valley, is infamous for getting a hydroelectric project into trouble. I first visited the village last year while covering the worst flood disaster Uttarakhand had witnessed. On June 26, 2013, as I stood at Narendra Singh's verandah in Chaaen, I noticed how the walls had developed...

-The Indian Express The lynching of a tea estate owner in Jalpaiguri last month has stirred up trouble in the already edgy tea gardens of north Bengal, where lockouts, labour unrest and poverty form a volatile mix. It's all quiet at Labour Lines, the workers' quarters of Sonali Tea Estate in Jalpaiguri. It has just been two days since Rajesh Jhunjhunwala, the 45-year-old owner of the tea gardens, was lynched by a...

-Deccan Chronicle THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Don't worry if the fruits and vegetables you buy from the markets are contaminated with pesticides. Here is a solution Veggie Wash which will decontaminate them. The product developed by the pesticide residue lab of Kerala Agriculture University will hit the market this month. Around 10 Companies have bought the formulation and another 10 are in the queue. Veggie Wash solution was standardised by M.Sc students...

-The Financial Express Besides better yield, mechanisation leads to a rise in labour employment   India is known as the land of agriculture, with a holding of nearly 157 million hectares of cultivable land, making our country the second-largest agricultural landholder in the world. With over 58% of the country's population depending on agriculture for earning livelihood, it is also the biggest employment avenue in the country. The Indian Green Revolution is regarded as...