-The Indian Express Substantial number of interest subvention scheme loans are diverted to non-agricultural uses. Government must switch to an income-support subsidy regime The Union budget for 2016-17 has provisioned Rs 15,000 crore on account of interest subvention for short-term agricultural credit, up by Rs 2,000 crore over the revised estimate for FY16. The mere shifting of this line item from the department of financial services to the department of agriculture...

-FirstPost.com Latur: A city with a population of five lakh, Latur offers a peek into a possible dystopian future for the rest of India. In the middle of the most severe drought of the past half century, everything here revolves around water.  Social gatherings, family outings, VIP visits and administrative meetings are all connected in some way to water scarcity and ways to address it. Unless a solution to the water...

-The Indian Express Jhargram: Even as people return, a steady out-migration, especially of agricultural labour and farmers, continues from the region that has seen poor rain for years now. Taralata Mahato (25) draws awed whispers from women of Jhambeda village in West Midnapore’s Jhargram block as the only one from the village in the police. Taralata lives in a pucca two-storey house with whitewashed walls and a huge cowshed — a palatial home...

-FirstPost.com Latur: At first glance, Latur looks like any other Indian town with its dusty congested streets and crowded bazaars. But looks can be deceptive. The town is the epicentre of a process of deindustrialisation and economic deprivation that has spread across the whole district. Reason: The worst drought in the last 45 years has led to acute water scarcity. Marathwada, which has received deficient rains for the last three years, is...

-The Hindu Business Line How Uttarakhand has roped in top scientists to popularise science among schoolchildren Twice each year, the sleepy town of Gangolihat in Pithoragarh district, Uttarakhand comes alive as hundreds of school students from nearby areas throng the campus of the Himalayan Gram Vikas Samiti (HGVS) to have their scientific curiosities addressed by top scientists from prestigious research institutes. These month-long events have been held annually during April-May and October-November...