-Live Mint Inefficient government relief is reason to allow access to alternatives The increased probability of an El Nino weather pattern has already begun to rustle up fears about how a bad monsoon could hurt a sluggish Indian economy. The concerns are valid even though the economy is less dependent on agriculture than before and reservoir levels this summer are quite comfortable. The lessons of previous El Nino episodes in 2002...

-Down to Earth Grand old party of India renews some old promises and makes some new ones, but will Congress live up to its promises if it wins a third term? The Indian National Congress (INC) presented its manifesto for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections on Wedneday. The manifesto committee claimed the 48-page document was prepared after wide consultations by engaging millions of people, grassroots congress workers and every section of the...

-Outlook The Supreme Court today asked all the state governments and Union Territories to fully implement legislation for eradicating manual scavenging and take action against violators, while issuing directions for education, employment and rehabilitation of affected people. A bench of Chief Justice P Sathasivam and justices Ranjan Gogoi and N V Ramana also directed them to take appropriate action for non-implementation as well as violation of the provisions contained in the Prohibition...

-Outlook Yavatmal (Maharashtra): Untimely rain and hailstorm destroyed crops and orchards spread over 90,000 hectares in Yavatmal district in the last fortnight, official sources said. Crop of wheat and gram on 87,881 hectare of land was wiped out, while vegetables spread over 1,036 hectares was destroyed, sources in the Agriculture Department said. "Fruits like oranges, papaya and lemon were also destroyed and the area under cultivation comes to over 882 hectares. The highest...

-Deccan Herald Behind all the ostentation, glitz and glamour of the recently concluded mega ‘Progressive Agriculture Summit' in Punjab lies the harsh reality of farmer suicides and the burgeoning agrarian crisis that this border state reels under. A state government commissioned study conducted by three prominent universities in Punjab lay bare the magnitude of the crisis. On an average estimate, three persons committed suicide every two days in last one decade in...