-AFP Global online freedom declined for a fifth year as govts stepped up electronic surveillance and clamped down on dissidents using blogs or social media Washington: Global online freedom declined for the fifth straight year as governments around the world expand censorship and surveillance of the Internet, according to a group that tracks democracy and human rights. Nearly half of the 65 countries examined have seen online freedom weaken since June...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: It will be a 'do or die' situation for India's Basmati, which occupies pride of place in the country's agricultural trade, when the Chennai-based Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB) next week takes a call on granting 'GI' (geographical indicator) tag to the world famous long grain aromatic variety of rice. Chances of it getting the tag depends on whether India joins hands with Pakistan to...

-Livemint.com Large dairy farms are critical for the next stage of India's white revolution Nagara (Anand): Sunil Patel hardly looks like a dairy farmer in his loafers, sleek glasses and cotton trousers. As he guides me to his farm of 110 cows through the narrow lanes of Nagara, a small village around 60 km from India’s milk capital, Anand, I notice most of the houses have piped natural gas connections. Nagara, like...

-The Hindu VISAKHAPATNAM: DWCRA member makes strides by sellingfruit juice concentrates. Initially, she started off with just a couple of fruit juices using mango and guava pulp. A couple of decades ago, G. Bhagya Lakshmi was striving hard to make both ends meet with her husband Raghavendra Rao’s meagre income. Today, she earns Rs.2-3 lakh a month by making homemade juice concentrates. Hailing from Bandarulanka in East Godavari district, Bhagya Lakshmi attributes the...

-The Indian Express Farmers are unanimous that Punjab hasn’t seen such bad days, with one or the other crop failing in consecutive seasons — and now basmati selling even below parmal. Jalandhar: When farmers in Punjab began taking the harvested grain from their Pusa-1509 superfine basmati paddy crop early this month, they were shocked to see it fetch rates below not just half of last year’s levels, but even the official minimum...