-TheHansIndia.com * Solar-powered water pumping solution comes as a boon to meet irrigation and drinking water needs of rural population, especially in power-deficit regions. * The installation of pumpsets reduces dependence on power and expenditure on bills Kakinada: As part of the government’s target to set up solar agricultural pump sets across the State to reduce the grid power consumption by farmers, officials of the New and Renewable Energy Development Corporation of Andhra...

-Down to Earth Black rice is drought resistant and has rich medicinal properties. Manipur and Assam are reviving this variety Not very long ago, black rice (Oryza sativa) was forbidden in China. Not because it looked poisonous for its black colour, but because it had nutritional values, and found a place only on an emperor’s menu. For centuries, the nutritional values of this wild rice eluded common people. It is only now...

-Livemint.com Govt likely to appeal ruling that requires it to offer level playing field to domestic and foreign manufacturers Geneva/New Delhi: A World Trade Organization (WTO) panel has ruled against India in a dispute raised by the US over the country’s solar power programme, requiring the government to offer a level playing field to both foreign and domestic manufacturers of solar panels. India is likely to appeal against the dispute settlement panel’s ruling,...

-The Hindu After sitting on a key Bill to strengthen the law against atrocities on people belonging to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, the Modi government now appears keen on pushing it through during the Monsoon Session of Parliament, possibly with an eye on the forthcoming Bihar Assembly elections. The United Progressive Alliance government had promulgated the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Ordinance on March 4,...

-The Times of India Tech The Department of Telecom has released its report on net neutrality in India. The report, which runs in over 100 pages, upholds the key principles of of net neutrality. Below are the key recommendations of the report. 1) The Committee unhesitatingly recommends that "the core principles of Net Neutrality must be adhered to." 2) The international best practices along with core principles of Net Neutrality will help in...