-The Hindu   Challenge is to save existing acreage by increasing productivity, reducing cost Mangalore: Area of paddy cultivated in kharif season in Dakshina Kannada decreased by more than 17 per cent and in rabi by more than 15 per cent in the past decade and a half, according to the Department of Agriculture. Officials attributed this to farmers switching over to horticulture crops and converting the area under the food crop for various...

-Down to Earth Most suicides among orchard farmers, say observers As many as 101 farmers have committed suicide in the Marathwada region of Maharashtra since the devastating hailstorms in March this year. This sudden spurt of suicides has raised concerns as to whether this arid region is heading for an agrarian crisis similar to that of Vidarbha. A whopping 71 suicides have been reported in the month of March 2014, close on the...

-The Hindustan Times   The Aadhaar scheme, touted as ‘gamechanger' by the UPA government, ended up hurting the Congress in the Lok Sabha polls, said outgoing Union food and consumer affairs minister KV Thomas. "The Aadhaar initiative, and the objective of linking welfare schemes with it, didn't find favour with the people. The decision was not appreciated by voters," Thomas told HT on the eve of the Congress Working Committee meeting on Monday,...

-The Hindustan Times   Like all other children, 11-year-old Gayatri Kachari loves playing. And if play involves water, she loves it even more. For many children at Sajjanpara Lower Primary School in Assam's Kamrup district, the three minutes spent washing their hands as a group before their mid-day meal is the highlight of the day. The children cheerfully sing the "Hand Washing song" as they scrub their hands under running water...

-The Times of India   NEW DELHI: The World Health Organisation's (WHO) work of setting up norms and standards for production of medicines seems to be flawed by a fundamental conflict of interest. At the heart of its standard setting work is an entity the International Conference on Harmonization (ICH) in which majority of the WHO member countries have no voting rights and which is dominated by pharmaceutical industry groups. This glaring...