Downplaying the impact of drought in three states on national food production, agriculture and cooperation secretary Prabeer Kumar Basu says the number of people dependent on agriculture has to come down for rural incomes to rise.  "We have sent our team for an assessment of the situation. None of this will affect overall production because it will be compensated by the rest of India where crop conditions are excellent. We will...

A government-appointed panel has suggested launching online higher education courses, a step experts said would not only widen access to knowledge but also check irregularities in distance learning. Apart from permission to universities and deemed universities to offer courses through the Internet, the committee has recommended that the government set up a Distance Education Council of India (DECI) as regulator. Fourteen open universities and 172 other institutions now offer distance education to...

The over 2 lakh Gram panchayats across the country will have to start recording their sittings in audio and video by the end of this month to bring transparency to proceedings, the panchayati raj ministry has ordered. The ministry issued a detailed order last December to all states and Union territories and warned that any panchayat failing to follow the rule would suffer cuts in funds to run government proGrammes. “This is...

* Only those inside houses coated with cow dung escaped the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy.   * There are only two ways to remain insulated from nuclear radiation, and one of them is application of cow dung. * Using cow dung can ensure normal delivery instead of C-section. * Those who drink the milk of jersey cow and buffaloes commit more crime than those who consume only desi cow’s milk. * Only the cow can...

-The Economic Times   It doesn't need economists, environmentalists or water conservation experts to tell us that the promise of free water is a disastrous idea. It will encourage farmers to cultivate water-guzzling crops. And in the process, it will lower water table levels, making water an even more precious commodity.  But this is election season when parties consider the exchequer as candy-vending machines. It is also the season when bad politics prevails...