As many as 806 farmers have committed suicide in the last two-and-a-half years in the State. Among the districts, Hassan has reported the highest number of suicides at 101, according to a written reply by Agriculture Minister Umesh Katti to the Legislative Assembly on Monday. Bidar stood second with 88 cases. However, there seems to be a decrease in the number of the farmers’ suicide cases in the last two years. Compared...

A growing number of endangered olive ridley sea turtles have been getting killed in Eastern India’s coastal state Orissa by mechanized vessels defying a fishing ban on one of the world’s largest turtle sanctuaries, Gahirmatha. While the government said "no more than 800" were killed since November last year, environmentalists counter that the casualty count of these tiny turtles is actually 5,000. The problem illustrates the situation that confronts Orissa and other...

India today slammed the US and other parties to the Copenhagen Accord for failing to deliver "fast track" financial obligations to Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and other nations facing the risk of climate change. Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh said the United States and other parties to the Copenhagen Accord had agreed to raise USD 30 billion for helping poor nations most at risk of climate change. "The continued inability to deliver on...

The age-old debate of whether the PM should be brought under the Lokpal has returned to the centre of discussion at the highest echelons as a group of ministers considers the anti-corruption mechanism. The GoM, headed by Pranab Mukherjee, is laying out UPA-2's roadmap to fight corruption, as it reels under an unprecedented onslaught by gigantic scams all around. Sources said the GoM, in its upcoming meeting, would look at the Lokpal...

The farmers in the state, who had lost their crops to the recent rain and hailstorm, may not get any compensation from the present weather-based insurance scheme in the state as hailstorm is not covered under the policy. According to sources, the state has adopted the weather-based insurance in which the compensation is calculated on the basic parameters of temperature, rainfall and moisture levels. These parameters could be measured by...