-Hindustan Times In August this year, whiteflies -- a notorious pest -- bumbled through vast tracts of punjab’s cotton fields, destroying a sizeable chunk of the crop in the state. These insects, which slurp on juicy, tender bolls, seemed to have inflicted heavy losses, sparking a serious farm crisis in India’s agricultural powerhouse in a decade. A back-to-back drought meant farmers grew more cotton, a hardy crop that requires less water to...

-PTI CHANDIGARH: The raging controversy over cow slaughter has hit the Rs 2,500 crore business of breeding cows in punjab with dairy farmers accusing the state's Gau Sewa Commission of "harassing" them by "inordinately" delaying the necessary permission for export of bovines to other states. Dairy farmers under the banner of punjab Progressive Dairy Farmers' Association alleged that the "inordinate" delay in getting the necessary permission from district authorities for export of...

-The Indian Express Slaughter of the cow and its progeny is banned in most of India; the consumption of their meat is also largely prohibited. States where cow slaughter is legal: Kerala No restrictions. West Bengal No restrictions. Other Northeast No ban in Arunachal, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Tripura, Sikkim. In Manipur, Maharaja in 1939 decreed prosecution for cow slaughter, but beef consumed widely. States where cow slaughter is banned: Andhra Pradesh & Telangana Slaughter of cows, calves prohibited. Bulls, bullocks...

-The Times of India BATHINDA: "It was just like the Japanese air strike in the film, Pearl Harbour," said Naresh Kumar Lehri, a seed and pesticide dealer at Singho village in punjab's Bathinda district. "They appeared out of nowhere and left a trail of destruction." Lehri was referring to the devastating attack by whitefly, a common pest, on the cotton crop in punjab's Malwa region this year. It has affected about two-thirds...

-The Times of India There is more to this year's rainfall deficit than meets the eye. After the monsoon was officially declared over on September 30, 17 of the country's 36 weather subdivisions had received deficient or scanty rainfall. That's about 39% of the country's area, home to over 66 crore people, nearly half the country's population. Deficient is when rains are below the average by 20% or more while scanty...