-The Hindu     ‘We have cashew on over 150 acres in the district now' Bidar: Vidya Sagar Patil still remembers the reactions of his neighbours when he decided to plant cashew on his family's land at Malchapur four years ago. "They thought I was mad. Some were blunt enough to tell me to my face, while others just gave me a weird look. After a while I stopped reasoning it out with them and...

-The Telegraph Ranchi: The state brass today urged Jairam Ramesh to increase the wages under the Centre's flagship Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS). The demand was placed before the Union rural development minister, who was on a daylong visit to Ranchi, at a review meeting of rural projects at Sri Krishna Sinha Institute of Public Administration (SKIPA). "We have requested the Union minister to increase the daily wages for MGNREGS...

-The Financial Express A patent law that is transparent, based on principles of good science & encourages innovation is in India's interest In 500 BC, in the Greek city of Sybaris, it was proclaimed that "encouragement was held out to all who should discover any new refinement in luxury, the profits arising from which were secured to the inventor by patent for the space of a year." England followed with the Statute...

-The Times of India HIWARE BAZAR: For those who wonder if Maharashtra can tide over the current drought situation, HiwareBazar, with its 'yes we can' spirit, is the answer. Notwithstanding the fact that Ahmednagar is facing its worst drought since Independence, HiwareBazar in the same district has no water scarcity. It's not that Nature favoured Hiware Bazar with a special bounty. In fact, the village had received a normal rainfall of 199...

-The Hindu As Marathwada’s groundwater table plummets to 500 ft, farmers here, as in other districts, are freely violating the law in a frantic bid to strike water. Mahadeo Mule has invested Rs. 1 lakh during the past five months to save his crops and livestock, drilling at five different points on his land, despite already having a borewell. He has also spent close to Rs. 35,000 on water from private...