-PTI NEW DELHI: Various rights groups have urged the government to hold a public consultation on the proposed amendments to the Child Labour Bill, which they warned will end up legitimizing economic exploitation of children and rob them of their childhood. They have written to Prime Minister narendra modi seeking a public consultation on the amendments and called for the removal of the provision seeking to legitimise use of children under 14...

-The Financial Express The NITI Aayog must firm up a concrete plan involving the states to deal with monsoon deficiency to avoid all-round confusion. This is an old and oft-repeated story in the media, but worth mentioning here for the readers who have missed it. It goes like this. During the period of erstwhile Planning Commission, one of the officials in-charge of projecting agricultural growth found out an innovative way to do...

-PTI NEW DELHI: To check rising price of pulses, the government on Wednesday said it will import lentils in large quantities to boost supply and also asked states to take action against hoarders. In a meeting chaired by Prime Minister narendra modi, the Cabinet expressed concern over rising prices and decided to increase imports, among other measures. Pulses prices have risen by up to 64% in the last one year as the domestic...

-The Telegraph Nagpur: Maharashtra's BJP-led government has put on hold confined field trials for genetically modified (GM) crops "until all doubts are cleared", following "objections from reputed members of society" including RSS affiliate Swadeshi Jagran Manch. No time bar has been specified for the restrictions, which come days before the onset of the monsoon and the start of the sowing season. The state agriculture department wrote to private and public sector companies on...

-The Financial Express The narendra modi government has pledged to employ all machinery at its disposal to deal with a second straight year of deficient monsoon. The narendra modi government has pledged to employ all machinery at its disposal to deal with a second straight year of deficient monsoon and denied an impending distress in the vulnerable pockets of the country, but a dispassionate look at the ground situation would show there...