-The Hindu Literacy has helped people in the State maximise the benefits of the rural employment guarantee scheme Kerala’s achievements have long been celebrated by development economists — high literacy rates, including among girls, low infant mortality rates and so on. There has also been a spate of writings highlighting the ills of Kerala society. Critics have pointed to the high rates of suicides and feminists have also raised difficult questions. While...

-LIve Mint A day ahead of a crucial ministerial meeting to review India’s severe rainfall deficiency, the agriculture ministry has unveiled a district-level plan of action that primarily consists of advisories on the kind of seeds to be sown, altered sowing plans and the conservative use of water. According to the department’s website, advisories have been issued to Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, West...

-The Hindu The Centre has asked the Supreme Court to allow the use of pesticide endosulfan in all States except Kerala and Karnataka, as these States are ready to use it for agricultural pest control. The Supreme Court in May last year banned the production and sale of endolsulfan in the country. In April this year, it asked the Centre to ascertain the quantity of raw material lying with three companies (producers...

-The Indian Express The government on Friday said the spectre of drought over a few states and the likelihood of a lower rainfall pattern this year should not be a concern for a “panicky situation” as it is geared up to face the situation with enough stocks of foodgrains and sugar. Last year the production of both foodgrains and sugar had overshot the estimate leaving the government with adequate resources for the...

-The Economic Times The labour ministry has set up a panel to look into discrepancies into its second annual employment and unemployment survey, which may have resulted in wide variation in performance of different states. "The committee will look at all aspects of the survey, including the methodology and the original field level data used. It will also look out for processing errors," a labour ministry official told ET. The findings of the...