-The Hindu Business Line Output data is unreliable, which leaves us unprepared for shortages. And, farming practices are primitive The price of potatoes is once again moving up, largely due to the demand-supply gap in the market-place. The National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (Nafed) that was asked by the Ministry of Civil Supplies to explore the possibility of importing potatoes from Russia, China and Egypt, procured 3,500 tonnes of potatoes...

-The Hindu Chennai: Wondering which spot to dig for groundwater or what is the quality of water in the land you own? Are you still thinking of folks walking around with those peculiar ‘Y'-shaped twigs? It's not quite that way any more. We've become more scientific, we're using special tools to figure out where the water lies. The ‘we' in this case refers to the State Ground and Surface Water Resources Data...

-The Indian Express New Delhi: As part of its efforts to reduce pollution in the Yamuna, the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) implemented the Interceptor Sewer Project, launching its first package in Dwarka on Monday. The project will lay 59 kilometre-long interceptor sewer lines to ensure that only treated sewage is discharged in major drains. The first package includes increasing the capacity of Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) in Dwarka from 20 million gallons...

-BBC It's a riot of colours - yellow marigolds and bright pink roses spread out in the sun. But the people spreading the joy this festive season cannot see it themselves - they are all visually challenged. They take in tonnes of flower waste produced by temples and hotels in Delhi and turn it into organic skin-friendly colours for Hindu festivals. The Society for Child Development, which runs this programme, says the process does...

-The Business Standard   NC Saxena, a former member of the National Advisory Council believes that the regulatory regime in the states continues to be oppressive. In an e-mailed interview with Aditi Phadnis, Saxena says that the fundamental problem in India is the low tax-GDP ratio and neither the last government nor the current one seems interested in increasing revenues. Edited excerpts: * The new government appears to be watering down a lot...