-The Guardian Rice conservationist Debal Deb grapples with 'mindless Indian elite' to reintroduce genetically diverse, drought-tolerant varieties   Fifty years ago, every Indian village would probably have grown a dozen or more rice varieties that grew nowhere else. Passed down from generation to generation and family to family, there would have been a local variety for every soil and taste - rice that would grow well in droughts or deep floods, which had...

-The United Nations The United Nations agricultural agency today launched a new database which gathers under one roof previously scattered information about land cover - how much land is covered by croplands, trees, forests, or bare soils - crucial to establishing a good global understanding of the physical characteristics of the Earth's surface. "A strong understanding of our planet's land cover is essential to promoting sustainable land resources management - including agricultural...

-Outlook As subsidies for the poor continue to be under attack, a ground-up report from 10-states shows how well welfare schemes have worked over the last 10 years. Ahead of Elections 2014, rights-based welfare schemes are under attack. To those who argue ‘Dolenomics' doesn't work, a survey of five schemes in 10 states shows that the Rs 1,68,478 crore annually the nation spends is making a real and tangible difference on...

-Press Information Bureau (Ministry of Information & Broadcasting) Shri Bimal Julka, Secretary, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting presented the 3rd National Community Radio Awards here today. The list of awardees is as under. i) Most Creative /Innovative Programme Content Awards 1) Yerlavani Community Radio, run by Yerala Projects Society, Sangli, Maharashtra, for its programme, "Changes in cropping and agricultural practices as per Environmental change" 2) Community Radio JU, Run by Jadavpur University, Kolkata, West...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Delhi no longer seems to be a preferred place of work for women who have from other parts of the country. A survey has found that as many as 43% of them are looking for jobs outside the city, even if it means a cut in salary, primarily because of Delhi's unsafe Environment. These shocking facts were revealed in a survey conducted by the PHD Chamber...