-PTI   The group has also urged the govt to constitute a national-level Commission, which looks into measures to prevent farmer suicides Nagpur: Farmers in the Maharashtra's Vidarbha region have demanded a Rs 30,000 crore development package from the upcoming Union Budget. In view of the neglected farmers, it was high time that the central government looks at agrarian crisis seriously in Vidarbha and announce a hefty development package, Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti (VJAS)...

-Down to Earth   District known for farmers' suicides has shallow soil depth which has very little capacity to retain water; report recommends switch to traditional millets, oilseeds Around half of the soil in Yavatmal district of Maharashtra, known both for suicides and for Bt cotton, is unsuitable for cotton cultivation, says a recent report from the National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning (NBSS & LUP) at Nagpur. The report,...

-The Telegraph   The European Union has banned the import of Indian mangoes as they failed to pass its stringent biosecurity regulations. Does India too need tougher biosecurity laws to protect its crops from pests and diseases? When a few pesky fruit flies tried to migrate from India, they ended up sparking a debate on the effectiveness of India's agricultural biosecurity laws and regulations. While some agriculture experts believe the laws are...

-The Times of India There is finally an official count of the third gender in the country - 4.9 lakh. While transgender activists estimate the numbers to be six to seven times higher, they are thrilled that such a large number of people identified themselves as belonging to the third gender, despite the fact that the census counting happened well before the Supreme Court order gave legal recognition to the third...

-The Hindustan Times   Chandigarh: The euphoria in the stock markets, after a strong mandate for Narendra Modi, hogs the national headlines. Unfortunately, the loud cries of wailing farm widows have been lost in the noise and clatter that follows. Isn't the continuing agrarian crisis the worst form of policy paralysis? There is a renewed spurt in the number of farm suicides across the country. My colleague Dr GV Ramanjaneyulu of the Centre for...