-Live Mint   Voters who gave the Congress its worst drubbing did not reject its welfare agenda, but its performance There are many who interpret the emphatic rejection of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) and the significant endorsement of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the elections of 2014 as a mandate to end the architecture of rights-based legislation for social and economic welfare constructed during the 10-year UPA regime. Commentators opposed...

-The Navhind Times   THAT climate will remain in a state of flux is a given. The fallout of global warming will be periodic extreme heat and drought, as was experienced by the United States and some other food-exporting countries in 2012, sending food prices close to record levels. At the same time, many countries, including China and India will experience heavy rains and floods from time to time, damaging food production. Even...

-The Times of India   LUCKNOW: With the spectre of a drought-like condition looming large in the state, the contingency plan of the government, too, is severely deficient on two basic component: power and seeds. There is no special plan to provide power to farmers who are already desperate due to delayed rains, to help them irrigate their farms for paddy saplings. Besides, seeds are hardly available in government storages. In drought-like situation,...

-The Hindu   Candles in the Wind, a documentary film by Kavita Bahl and Nandan Saxena depicts the plight of Punjab's farmer widows Bangalore: Punjab is said to have benefitted the most from the Green Revolution. Documentary filmmakers Kavita Bahl and Nandan Saxena break this myth of prosperity in their award-winning film, Candles in the Wind. The film, which received a special mention at the 61st National Film Awards, shows how the State has...

-The Business Standard   Millet is not only a rich source of nutrition but also mitigates climate change. It's time it was treated on a par with wheat and rice Dubbed by the health-savvy as nutri-grains, millet has been the victim of uncalled-for neglect. It has gradually been eased out of farmers' fields as well as from consumers' menu because of ill-advised procurement and price support policies. Even those who traditionally consumed millet,...