-AFP Katra Shahadatganj: Decorated with marigolds and ribbons, 108 toilets unveiled in a tragedy-hit village are a small step in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's push to end open-air defecation for impoverished Indian women. The spotlessly clean toilets were donated on Sunday to the village in northern Uttar Pradesh, where scared and vulnerable women had long been forced to trek nightly into the fields to relieve themselves. "I believe no woman must lose...

-DNA The aim is to drive farmers out of agriculture and turn food production into industrial enterprise Some years ago, former President APJ Abdul Kalam was addressing students at an annual event organised by K Govindacharya's Bhartiya Swabhiman Andolan at Gulbarga in Karnataka. He exhorted students to work hard, educate themselves to become doctors, engineers, civil servants, scientists, economists and entrepreneurs. After he had ended his talk, a young student got...

-The Financial Express From allocating extra foodgrains to states as a means to fight the price rise to setting up a high-level committee to recommend measures for restructuring the Food Corporation of India (FCI), the government has taken various steps for cutting down food subsidy and curbing further spike in agricultural commodity prices. From allocating extra foodgrains to states as a means to fight the price rise to setting up a high-level...

-The Indian Express Families have a preferred number of sons at any given fertility level as well as a preferred fertility level.   In his maiden Independence Day speech, Prime Minister Narendra Modi lamented the neglect of daughters, restrictions on their movements, parental attitudes that favoured sons, shameful rapes of girls and women, the lack of toilet facilities and sanitation. In a populist vein, he urged parents to treat sons and daughters...

-The Business Standard According to the department of agriculture, there were chances of an agriculture drought in about 35 districts across the country The southwest monsoon is continuing its weak run. For the week ended Thursday, it was 25 per cent below normal. This was a consecutive week when rains have been below-normal. A few parts of North India, however, recorded floods due to heavy rain in the Himalayas. According to a real-time assessment...