-The Hindu Business Line The PMUY scheme, under which the poor get subsidised LPG connection, addresses an urgent need. At the same time, it can turn out to be a political masterstroke for the BJP, write Richa Mishra and Debabrata Das The kitchen has always played an important role in Indian politics. Leaders across political parties have cooked their electoral fortunes with the kitchen as the integral ingredient. While some distributed highly...

-The Hindu The decision will be taken by GST Council, comprising Union and State Finance Ministers: Adhia. A day after the Bill to amend the Constitution was approved by the Rajya Sabha, paving the way for the Goods and Services tax (GST), the Centre seemed to concede that the rate at which the new indirect tax will be levied on most goods is likely to be higher than 18 per cent. While the...

-The Hindu This is hardly a rice ready for cultivation by farmers — it has not even entered the stage of biosafety evaluation by government regulatory institutions. Recently 110 Nobel Laureates issued a strongly worded plea to Greenpeace to “abandon their campaign against [genetically modified organisms] in general and Golden Rice in particular.” This is not the first time notable scientists have waded into the controversy surrounding genetically modified (GM) crops. What...

-The Hindu Police officials who have worked for years cracking cases related to the Bawariyas say their modus operandi is similar to this case. The Bulandshahr gang rape has once again turned the spotlight on the nomadic tribe of Bawariyas. The socio-economic history of the tribe reveals how their sustained alienation from the rest of the population forced generations to turn into criminals. The Bawariyas are natives of Rajasthan and have now spread...

-The Economic Times PUNE: Sowing reports from across India's pulses growing regions have indicated a bumper area under the crop tipping domestic and international prices that have corrected over the last 15 days setting a downward trend in prices. A July 26th forecast by National Australia Bank predicted a fall in chick peas and lentils from their peak of $1,200/tonne to $700/tonne by September 2017. The report, however, noted that prices of pulses...