-The Hindu Business Line Rice millers are making a killing due to policy gaps and old rates, says report The government is losing thousands of crores while rice mill owners are raking in the moolah, said the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) in its report tabled in Parliament on Tuesday. The report said mill owners are cashing in on lacunae in the government’s policy on the sale of paddy and rice by-products —...

-PTI NEW DELHI: The pre-monsoon groundwater level has declined in 46 per cent of wells assessed by the government across the country, as compared to the five-year average, Rajya Sabha was informed today. Union Minister of State for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Sanwar Lal Jat said this in Rajya Sabha while responding to questions on ground water levels in plains and drying waterfalls in hilly regions. "Assessment of groundwater-level monitoring...

-The Hindu Rural web access will grow on availability of content in languages including Hindi, Tamil India is expected to see an unprecedented boom in the number of Internet users over the next few years but for a host of Internet companies it means a wholesale change in the language in which they engage with their potential new consumers. According to a November report by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IMAI),...

-Economic and Political Weekly The importance of hand-washing in personal and public hygiene has evolved over the centuries. While the market with its countless number of soaps and hand-wash products for personal hygiene with the accompanying advertising has created a false sense of security, it is community hygiene implemented through public health measures that is really effective in the battle against disease. Lekha D Bhat (lekhabhatd@gmail.com) teaches at the Department of Social...

-TheWire.in This year has been yet another bad one for the agriculture sector. With just 0.2% growth in the last quarter, a good monsoon was essential to revive the sector. However, a deficient monsoon worsened the situation and as many as nine states have been forced to declare a drought. With almost 60% of India’s workforce engaged in agriculture, the slowdown has immensely affected the rural economy. The rural distress has in...