-PTI Washington: One third of the world may be at increased risk of drought by 2100 as warmer temperatures wring more moisture from the soil, a new study has warned. Increasing heat is expected to extend dry conditions to far more farmland and cities by the end of the century than changes in rainfall alone, researchers said. Much of concern about future drought under global warming has focused on rainfall projections, but higher...

-Down to Earth Grand old party of India renews some old promises and makes some new ones, but will Congress live up to its promises if it wins a third term? The Indian National Congress (INC) presented its manifesto for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections on Wedneday. The manifesto committee claimed the 48-page document was prepared after wide consultations by engaging millions of people, grassroots congress workers and every section of the...

-Down to Earth Demand income security and sustainability, and redressal of grievances relating to land matters which they say are the biggest source of corruption and mis-governance The apathy of successive governments of Andhra Pradesh towards the deepening agrarian crisis has resulted in farmers groups organising themselves to put pressure on political parties during election time. The Rythu Swarajya Vedika, an umbrella organisation of various farmers' groups and non-profits working in the...

-The Telegraph   Bottle gourd shells, used to make traditional musical instruments like sitar and tanpura, are no longer grown by the farmers in Howrah, reports Amrita Ghosh West Bengal: Its not without reason that "shader lau..." is the most popular folk song in parts of rural Bengal, including Howrah. "Lau" or bottle gourd, as the folk song goes, turns a man into a vagrant as he eats its base and its top...

-The Times of India CHANDIGARH: The Congress government in Haryana will soon have to return crores of rupees to the Centre after the parliamentary standing committee on agriculture has found truth in IAS officer Ashok Khemka's allegations that farmer subsidies had been misappropriated. The committee, headed by CPM MP Basudeb Acharia, has 31 MPs, including Jyoti Mirdha, sister-in-law of Rohtak MP Deepender Hooda. Deepender is son of Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Hooda...