-The Financial Express When several NGOs and others protested against the GEAC report, the UPA's environment minister, Jairam Ramesh decided not to give the final go-ahead. As farmers under the umbrella of the Shetkari Sangathana start their civil disobedience movement and plant the banned Herbicide Tolerant (HT) GM seeds as well as Bt brinjal, chances are the authorities will treat this as yet another law and order issue and will arrest them;...

-The Indian Express Record number of tankers are sole source of water in large parts of state. Behind the crisis, late monsoon following a deficit year, depleting groundwater in 279 talukas, under 10% live storage in 13 key reservoirs. Maharashtra is facing a water emergency of unprecedented proportions. Following years of drought, the rivers’ currents have ebbed, water in dams and reservoirs has depleted and over-exploitation of groundwater has raised concerns...

-The Hindu High temperature during summer, along with humidity more than the normal, is considered to be an ideal situation for the outbreak of Acute Encephalitis Syndrome, say doctors. Patna: At least 28 children have died in the last one month in Muzaffarpur district of north Bihar, allegedly due to Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES), which is locally known as Chamki bukhar (brain fever). Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, has expressed concern over the rising...

-Livemint.com Fewer women are working now, and those who are work long hours for low pay, data from India’s latest official employment survey show Just nine countries around the world, including Syria and Iraq, now have a fewer proportion of working women than India, new official data confirms. And if Bihar were a country, it would have the lowest share of working women in the world. Among urban women who do work,...

-The Indian Express While official estimates have pegged average annual growth at around 7 per cent during this period, actual GDP growth is likely to have been lower, at around 4.5 per cent, says Subramanian New Delhi: In the midst of a raging controversy over India’s economic growth under the new GDP series, former Chief Economic Adviser Arvind Subramanian has concluded that the country’s growth has been overestimated by around 2.5...