-The Week Telangana leader claims he is making astronomical profits from capsicum farming Telangana: Not many politicians who own land are farmers. But Telangana Rashtra Samithi president K. Chandrasekhara Rao is different. While he ensures Telangana remains a burning issue, Rao is also busy growing capsicum, potato, bitter gourd, and bottle gourd. The capsicum crop itself, he claims, will fetch him Rs.10 crore. His claim of huge returns and promise of land...

-Outlook After a row over implementation of a expert committee report, the Centre has ruled out appointment of any more panel to study Western Ghats in an attempt to address concerns of the six states through which the ecologically-sensitive hills traverse. Environment Minister M Veerappa Moily said the states concerned should appoint committees respectively to assess the kind of activities that could be allowed in the tract. After the committees submit their...

A new report on India's housing sector confirms with facts and figures what has been suspected all along: that despite growing demand for affordable housing, supply side responses have been weak and sluggish. This means even though the housing sector can directly impact employment and income generation, and has multiple forward and backward linkages with various industries, it needs innovative ideas, pro-poor thinking and policy stimulus. (See link below for...

-New Indian Express Kochi: You can hardly find an unused paddy field at Koodatham Poyil, a small village in Kayanna grama panchayat near Perambra, thanks to Samrudhi, a society of 21 members in the region which is on a mission to turn the village green by bringing the old glory of paddy cultivation back. Samrudhi was formed two years ago when the Krishi Bhavan encouraged farmers to get united to save...

-The Pioneer Bhubaneswar: Despite numerous policies and amendment in Hindu Succession Act, 2005 that provides inheritance rights to the Indian women on their parental agricultural land, the law has remained a non-starter with just 10 per cent of women having been able to own land in the country. Aimed at elevating the land rights issue of rural women, Landesa in partnership with Oxfam India organised a State level media workshop titled, ‘A...