-DNA Joining ranks with nearly ten other big states, Gujarat government has now decided not to allow field trials of any Genetically Modified (GM) food crops within its boundaries. The decision is a significant one as it comes from the home state of prime minister Narendra Modi which he was leading till few months ago. Now with Gujarat also saying no to field trials of GM crops, Maharashtra remains the only state...

-The Economic Times NEW DELHI: The monsoon that set in on India late this year is making a delayed retreat as well. Rains towards the fag end of the season are good for Standing Crops and will hold soil moisture for winter crops, but may hurt crops which are ready for harvest, particularly paddy and cotton in some areas. According to the government's meteorology department officials, there are no signs of...

-Down to Earth Floods destroy Standing Crops; in July, hailstorm had damaged farms and orchards As floods washed away belongings of flood-affected people of Jammu and Kashmir, the Centre has intervened to ensure food availability to them. Union food and public distribution minister, Ram Vilas Paswan, has directed senior officials of Food Corporation of India (FCI) to camp at Srinagar and closely monitor the availability of food grains in the affected areas...

-The Telegraph Bihar: The statewide torrential rain in mid-August caused flood conditions in 16 districts but came as a boon for standing paddy crop. Figures say the overall kharif transplantation coverage went up by nearly 40 per cent during August. It was 54 per cent on August 1 and touched 93 per cent on September 1. It came as a major relief for farmers and the state government, as, till the first week...

-Women's Feature Service Tribal families in Bankura, West Bengal, living on a stable diet of potato and rice and occasionally some 'daal' (lentils), are now consuming a variety of vegetables, cereals, fruits and animal protein with relish on a daily basis, marking a sea change in the nutrition parametres in one of the most backward districts of India. The credit for this dramatic transformation goes to the dry land sustainable integrated farming...