The government’s programme to usher in a green revolution in West Bengal, Assam, Orissa, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and eastern Uttar Pradesh will see a key change in the next financial year. The allocation of funds, which was more skewed towards West Bengal so far, will now shift towards eastern Uttar Pradesh, according to guidelines framed for implementing the scheme. Officials said this was largely because a new component of wheat had been...

The Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) activists staged a protest here on Wednesday to vent their dissent at the Central Government over the poor implementation of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). Scores of persons took part in the demonstration, which was led by LJP President Ram Vilas Paswan and the head of the party’s Punjab state unit Jay Singh. Jay Singh said that they have sought from the Central Government...

Even as concerns are emerging about generalised inflation gripping the economy, with reports of rising wage rates, food price inflation remains the citizen’s core concern. Macroeconomic authorities have been chasing a variety of targets – monetary, fiscal and supply-side constraints – to get a better grip on prices. It is often hoped that higher prices would translate into increased production since farmers would respond positively to price signals. What then...

The lowest child sex ratio in 50 years revealed by the 2011 census reflects India’s failure to stop selective abortion of female foetuses despite laws against sex selection and campaigns to promote goodwill towards girls, sections of doctors said. The 2011 census released today by the registrar general of India has shown that the ratio of girls to boys up to six years of age has dropped to 914 girls for...

High-velocity winds accompanied by hailstorm and an incessant spell of rain for a couple of hours last night damaged the almost ripened wheat crop in villages across Patiala and surrounding areas. With farmers demanding a special girdwari, the administration may write to the government to look into their losses and order payment of adequate compensation. Reports reaching the district headquarters said that the hailstorm had flattened standing wheat crop in numerous...