-The Hindustan Times Mumbai: Indian companies have acquired land more than NINe times the size of Delhi on foreign shores, as cultivable land at home is lost to urbanisation, industry and infrastructure projects. Land Matrix, a global land monitoring initiative that tracks land dealings worldwide, placed India among the top 10 countries that have acquired large tracts of land abroad, primarily for agriculture, in Africa and Asia. The country ranks eighth,...

-The Hindu A warmer world may be leading to a delayed withdrawal of the Indian monsoon, hitting crop yield and affecting the livelihoods of small farmers and agricultural workers The joys of a bountiful southwest monsoon are increasingly changing to anxiety as the rains unseasonally drag on in many parts of India. "The normal rains should be from June 1 to mid-September. In fact it usually reduces by August 15, and is...

-The Times of India BHUBANESWAR: The United Nations on Tuesday appreciated the state government's preparedness in dealing with the 'very very severe' cyclone Phailin, saying it would highlight the efforts as a successful case study globally. Terming the evacuation of nearly one million people, which ensured minimal loss of human lives, a 'landmark success story', special representative of the UN secretary general for disaster risk reduction Margareta Wahlstrom told TOI, "We are...

-The Times of India GOPALPUR/CHATRAPUR: With meteorological warNINg systems working efficiently and swift reaction by the Odisha government and the Centre, the strongest cyclone to strike the country in the last 14 years began dissipating on Sunday, thwarted from its destructive potential by the mass evacuation of close to NINe lakh people into cyclone shelters in a matter of hours and days. Roaring at more than 200 kmph, winds ripped through homes...

-The Indian Express Ranchi: Over 15 districts spread across Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Orissa saw Durga Puja with a difference this festival season. Instead of the goddess slaying Mahishasur, the usual story of the Puja, this year, tribals and people belonging to Scheduled Castes and backward classes in these districts are celebrating the "demon king" as a non-Aryan inhabitant and a just king of the land, with Durga...