-DNA If we observe closely, the women entrepreneurs who run a variety of local small businesses are drivers of the local economy in many ways. Never ending stretches of backwaters and lush green coconut groves welcome you as you drive through the southern Indian state of Kerala. It is the only state in India where the sex ratio is of 1084 females per 1000 males. At 92%, Kerala has one of...

-Livemint.com A pair of eggs costs less than Rs8 today whereas 100gm of tur dal costs between Rs16 and Rs20 New Delhi: The recent spurt in the prices of pulses is causing much heartburn to governments and consumers. But this is not the first time that prices of pulses have shot up; within the foodgrain basket, production and price shocks are fairly regular for pulses but rare for rice or wheat. So, how...

-Hindustan Times Amisha Paswan, an otherwise quiet and shy girl, is pretty articulate when she spells out her career plans. “I want to become a doctor and cure poor people,” she says in fluent English. Amisha loves to read fairy tales but her own life is the tale of a girl trying to succeed despite the many disadvantages that comes with being born into extreme poverty. As we speak to her on...

-Hindustan Times Each year, an adult on average catches viral infections two to three times a year. Young children get them more often, falling ill between four and six times a year, with symptoms in both young and old ranging widely from mild sniffles and a sore throat to a hacking cough, high fever and acute diarrhoea, all of which appear to be leading to more and more hospitalisations each year. Over...

-Livemint.com The destruction of almost two-thirds of the state’s cotton crop by the whitefly has forced 15 farmers to commit suicide, pushed hundreds of others into debt An insect has ravaged the cotton crop across Punjab’s Malwa region. The destruction of almost two-thirds of the state’s cotton crop by the whitefly has forced as many as 15 farmers to commit suicide and pushed hundreds of others into debt. A Times of India report...