-The Indian Express Wells dry up across 8 districts, storage down to less than 8%, residents trudge long distances, officials brace for worst drinking water crisis in 40 years. Beed/ Parbhani (Maharashtra): Seventy-year-old Parobai Shinde, carrying an aluminium pot that has seen better days, is briskly walking the 2-km stretch from her home in Manyarwadi village in Georai taluka in Beed district to Bharat Sonmali’s field. Sonmali is reploughing his 30...

-The Hindu Despite growing clamour for pesticide-free produce, doubts persist about the capability of organic farming to generate high yields Kerala: Organic farming began finding momentum in Kerala since the unveiling of a policy in 2010 that set the goal of converting the entire agricultural production in the State to organic within 10 years. That policy announced by the then Left Democratic Front government is now being fast-tracked by the present United...

-The Times of India HYDERABAD: Desperate to save the standing crop in the face of severe drought, paddy farmers have turned to the animal hormone Oxytocin to salvage the Khariff yield. Oxytocin, which is widely used by farmers in a bid to artificially promote growth in fruits and vegetables, has been banned for use in agriculture and animal husbandry.  According to researchers in Prof Jayashankar Telangana State Agricultural University here, paddy farmers...

-The Hindu Kerala: 'Vithu Muthal Vipani Vare Vishudhi' launched by Earth Care Foundation to ensure maximum price for farmers and toxin-free food for consumers. The Earth Care Foundation Trust, a non-profitable organisation working for spreading zero-budget farming methods, has launched a project ‘Vithu Muthal Vipani Vare Vishudhi’ in the district on Tuesday aimed at ensuring a steady market for the produces of registered natural farmers. Besides, the trust also aims at giving them...

-ANI About 75 tribal groups have been identified and categorized as particularly vulnerable tribal groups (PVTGs) by the government. To cater to their overall wellbeing and development, the Ministry of Tribal Affairs has further revised the Development of Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) Scheme to provide 100 percent financial assistance through state governments. The scheme focuses on activities such as housing, land distribution, land and agricultural development, animal husbandry, the construction of link...