-The New Indian Express Bhubaneshwar: The State Government has decided to implement the Focused Area Development (FAD) scheme for the welfare of tribal people for the next 10 years with an expenditure of `15.9 crore per year. The scheme was launched in 2012-13 for providing alternative sources of livelihood to the tribal people. The decision to continue the FAD scheme for the next 10 years was taken at a high level meeting...

-The Times of India THENI: Villages near Bodi Hills in Tamil Nadu are seeing a quiet revolution in animal-rearing facilitated by technology. Many women in these villages, who are involved in goat farming, are harnessing the power of the cell phone, for managing their herds better. Every day, they receive about five voice messages on their mobile phones about scientific methods of goat rearing which they say, have helped them improve...

-Frontline Social development indicators in Gujarat are poor, proving that development in the State is lopsided On a hot day last November near Rajkot, Ramjibhai Patel, an octogenarian farmer, pointed to the middle distance and said, “See that lake?” There was indeed a shimmer in the dry landscape indicating water, but after a relatively poor monsoon, it seemed improbable. Chuckling, he said, “Yes, I see doubt on your face and you are...

-The Guardian In a village in India's poorest state, Bihar, farmers are growing world record amounts of rice – with no GM, and no herbicide. Is this one solution to world food shortages? Sumant Kumar was overjoyed when he harvested his rice last year. There had been good rains in his village of Darveshpura in north-east India and he knew he could improve on the four or five tonnes per hectare that he usually...

-The Times of India Why isn't aam admi smiling? The question's relevant, since some cheer's apparent in government circles over wholesale price index-based inflation falling to 6.62% in January. Headline inflation, it's said, will drop further by March-end. To common people, the WPI inflation figure's a meaningless number. If WPI inflation's dipped a fourth successive month, food prices have been riding high for far longer. Policymakers periodically recommend release of foodgrains from...