-The Times of India HYDERABAD: Desperate to save the standing crop in the face of severe drought, paddy farmers have turned to the animal hormone Oxytocin to salvage the Khariff yield. Oxytocin, which is widely used by farmers in a bid to artificially promote growth in fruits and vegetables, has been banned for use in agriculture and animal husbandry.  According to researchers in Prof Jayashankar Telangana State Agricultural University here, paddy farmers...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: The Press Council of India has sought a clarification from the Union government over a gag order the home ministry issued last month to restrict media access to senior officials. In a letter sent yesterday to the information and broadcasting ministry, the council, the statutory body to regulate the print media in the country, sought an explanation on why a "section of the central government had asked senior...

-Frontline As rural Karnataka reels under an unprecedented wave of suicides by farmers, the State administration looks on, unwilling to address the reasons that have rendered rural livelihoods fragile. DEATH stalks rural Karnataka. In the 41 days between July 1 and August 10, as many as 245 farmers committed suicide, an average of six a day; since April 1, 284 farmers have taken their lives. As a bewildered State government gropes...

-PTI If a website is noticed with barriers for the visually impaired browsers, it would be upgraded with necessary tools In a major initiative, people with disabilities will be able to easily access government websites across the country as steps are being taken to enhance their features. As many as 6,000 websites of the Centre and state governments would be covered out of which 50 per cent would be made fully accessible for...

-The Indian Express One of the criticisms of the proposed amendment is that it could, in one stroke, legalise the illegal detention of thousands of underage children by policemen across the country. As a potentially chaotic Rajya Sabha attempts to take up the contentious Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Bill 2015 — passed by the Lok Sabha and listed for the Rajya Sabha Wednesday — a number of legal...