-The Telegraph New Delhi: Union home ministry sources today blamed the Haryana government's "wilful neglect" and "abject surrender to lumpen elements" for yesterday's mayhem by Dera Sacha Sauda followers. "Initial assessment reports from the ground suggest a complete administrative and police failure. There was no leadership and no instruction from the police brass to deal with the mob. The will was lacking," a senior ministry bureaucrat told The Telegraph . "It points to...

-The Hindu Surakhpur, declared ‘fully digital payment enabled’ by government, rues low literacy, poor connectivity Around 10 days ago, a team of Delhi government officials handed over two PoS (point of sale) machines to kirana (grocery) store owners Surat Singh and Ramesh Kumar, both residents of Surakhpur village in Najafgarh, on the Delhi-Haryana border. The officials taught the two how to use the machines. On Wednesday, when The Hindu visited the village, where...

-The Indian Express The opposition’s main contention is that the GM mustard hybrid incorporates three alien genes — barnase, barstar and bar — rendering it inherently unsafe for human and animal health. Fifty years ago, Union Minister for Food and Agriculture Chidambaram Subramaniam took the decision to import 18,000 tonnes of seeds of Lerma Rojo 64A and Sonora 64 wheat from Mexico. The seeds arrived just in time for their planting in...

-Livemint.com Labour unions are reinventing their strategy to stay relevant in today’s world New Delhi: Ajitesh Pandey, a law student in Calcutta University, is excited about the 2 September strike called by labour unions. With almost child-like enthusiasm, the member of the Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC), has been sharing pictures, slogans, and details related to the protest with his friends and colleagues. Pandey’s excitement reflects a surprising vibrancy in how unions...

-Down to Earth Severe dry spells in Indian forests have hit the livelihood of more than 100 million people. But India simply does not acknowledge this drought For more than five months, residents of Jabarra village have been foraging the forests for minor forest produce (MFP). The forest in Chhattisgarh’s Dhamtari district is abundant with more than 200 types of forest produce and the district is known as Asia’s biggest trading...