-Down to Earth Farmers want drought to be declared; government dilly-dallies According to the second survey carried out by the Revenue Department of Maharashtra, more than 20,000 villages in the state have received less than 50 per cent agricultural yield this year. The state has a total of 43,722 villages. This means that close to half the state is in an agricultural crisis. An earlier survey had put this number at a mere...

-The Times of India MUMBAI: The city has seen an alarming 61 % rise in the number of abortion cases over the past three years, according to the BMC statistics received by the public health department. The city recorded 27,256 abortions in 2012-13 against 16,977 abortions registered in 2010-11 , reveals the BMC data on abortions conducted in public and private hospitals in its jurisdiction. But government officials find nothing suspicious in this...