With a significant improvement in levels of major irrigation reservoirs in the state, thanks to a robust north-east monsoon, Tamil Nadu can look forward to a decent production of summer crops that can potentially arrest the rising prices of vegetables, pulses and food grains. And despite the power woes of farmers and shrinking area of farm lands in the wake of real estate growth, the state's agricultural yield seems to...

Even though the Central Government agreed to link the wages paid under MG-NREGA to the Consumer Price Index for Agricultural Labourers (CPIAL), it shied away from paying statutory minimum wages in various states of India. Their logic for this: Lack of clarity on who will bear the extra financial burden—the Centre or the states? A letter from the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to UPA and NAC Chairperson Sonia Gandhi dated 31...

Mamata Banerjee today asked the government to withdraw its decision to decontrol oil prices, the demand coming on a day arch-rival Left announced a weeklong protest from early next month over the petrol price hike. Both spoke of the burden on the masses as the bitter enemies rehearsed for poll battles ahead: in Bengal, where Mamata is looking to topple the Marxists, and in Kerala, where the ruling Left is on...

Concerned at flak, Manmohan asks him to call press meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh asked Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday to hold a detailed press conference “at the earliest” to clarify the government's position on the black money issue and what it was doing to deal with the menace. On Wednesday, the Supreme Court sought clarity from the government on how it intended to end black money, and wanted to know...

Winter in the Indian capital is a season of mists, minus the mellow fruitfulness. The air becomes charged with toxic emissions and particles that cannot disperse due to a meteorological phenomenon called "atmospheric inversion". According to B.P. Yadav, scientist with the meteorological department, atmospheric inversion is caused by a warming of the upper layers of the atmosphere, trapping colder air on the surface and, with it, vehicular and industrial emissions. "The immediate...