-The Economic Times PUNE: Forecast of excess rainfall this monsoon season is heartening after back to back droughts, but it's also likely to bring along a lot of problems for the country's farmers, agriculture experts said. Initial lethargy in monsoon's progress, coupled with possibility of excess rainfall during the latter part of the season, may bring problems for crops like soyabean, pulses, jowar and maize during their harvest time, while pest and...

-The Indian Express According to Census 2011, there are 364.66 million youngsters in the 10-24 age group, making up 30.11 per cent of the country’s total population. Pune: Suicide was the leading cause of death among youngsters aged 10-24 in the country, with 62,960 such deaths reported in 2013, according to the findings of the Lancet Commission on Adolescent Health and Well-being that is being launched in London on Tuesday. Road...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Dengue, the mosquito-borne disease which hits India hard every year, is estimated to cost the world a whopping $8.9 billion annually. That's higher than many major infectious diseases including cholera, canine rabies and rotavirus gastroenteritis, medical journal Lancet has said quoting a new study. India shares a significant burden of the total cost. Last year, when there was an unusual surge in dengue cases in India...

-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...

-DNA The failure of Bt Cotton to ward off pests has pushed farmers to penury The whitefly attack that has devastated the cotton crop in parts of Punjab and Haryana and caused heavy losses to farmers was a disaster that was waiting to happen. Estimates say that some 8 lakh hectare of standing cotton has been destroyed causing damage worth crores of rupees, which has hit farmers hard. This disaster was waiting...