-The Business Standard Berhampur (Odisha): The expert team of the World Bank and Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Wednesday visited different areas of the cyclone Phailin-hit Ganjam district in Odisha to assess the damage caused due to the calamity. Divided in groups, the 14-member team along with the government officers visited different areas including slum pockets in Berhampur, fishermen and coastal villages in Ganjam, Chhatrapur and Rangeilunda blocks. The team led by the...

-The Business Standard The National Optic Fibre Network project aims to connect 2.5 lakh gram panchayats across the country with optical fibre The government is likely to miss the deadline for its dream project - National Optic Fibre Network (NOFN) to connect 2.5 lakh gram panchayats across the country with optical fibre for offering 100 megabit per second (mbps) broadband services. The much-talked-about NOFN project, which was initiated in 2011 with the approval...

-The Hindu HYDERABAD / KAKINADA / ELURU: Several thousand people were evacuated from low-lying areas, standing crops in a few lakh acres were marooned and coconut trees and electric poles were uprooted in the three coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh as the severe cyclonic storm Helen made a landfall near Machilipatnam on Friday afternoon. Even after landfall, the system was expected to maintain the intensity of cyclonic storm for six hours and...

-The Business Standard A third of Indians migrate, but government ignores them A recent UNESCO report reveals how widely prevalent migration within India has become, and has once again revived the apparently endless debate on whether this trend should be curbed or encouraged. Under the United Progressive Alliance government, internal migration has been seen as a sign of distress rather than of aspiration, and thus there have been various bids to control...

-The Hindustan Times Bhubaneswar/Hyderabad: At least four more people have been killed and 66,000 evacuated as the flood situation worsened in Odisha following incessant rain in most parts of the state for the fifth consecutive day on Friday. The continuous downpour has added to the suffering of the people after Cyclone Phailin hit the beach town of Gopalpur in Ganjam on the night of October 12 with a wind speed of more...