-The Hindu Govt. still hopeful of achieving 100 lakh metric tonnes target Chennai: Even as it predicted that the severe unprecedented drought witnessed in the State during 2016-17 “may affect the foodgrain production over the next two years,” the Tamil Nadu government appears hopeful of achieving the target of 100 lakh metric tonnes in agricultural production during 2017-18. Listing out various policies and strategies for agro-ecological intensification during 2017-18, the State government, in...

-IndiaSpend/ Hindustan Times Mumbai’s high malnutrition figures are despite the fact that 83% of government and aided schools in Mumbai city and 95.1% in its suburbs have a midday meal programme. Mumbai’s Colaba is well known for its art deco buildings, the Gateway of India, swish pubs and restaurants, and the pleasant promenade of Marine Drive. It houses the state assembly, Vidhan Bhavan, and the state secretariat, Mantralaya. However, this high-profile ward recorded...

-VillageSquare.in Given the complex and varied SITuations in rural India, the results of the direct benefit transfer method are so far mixed at best and debilitating at worst, as seen in the subsidies for farm equipment and fertilizers Direct benefit transfer (DBT), a system through which government programs transfer funds directly to bank accounts of beneficiaries, is hailed as a major intervention that is expected to cut a whole lot of misdirection...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Any offensive post on social media targeting an individual of the SC/ST community, even if made in a closed group, is punishable, the Delhi high court said Monday. In an important ruling that plugs the gap between online abusers and their prosecution, the HC made it clear that Scheduled Castes & Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, will apply if a casteist slur is made...

-VillageSquare.in The problem of male cattle in India, the world’s largest milk-producing country, remains in limbo even as farmers grapple with latest government regulations that severely restrict cattle trade and culling Alpesh Patel, a small farmer in Mogari village of Anand district in Gujarat, owns three crossbreed female cattle and earns supplemental income by selling milk to the nearest dairy co-operative. He strives to keep his herd efficient for milk production by...