-Live Mint Despite a directive, and later a final warning from the Supreme Court, some states are yet to notify core areas that include tiger breeding grounds The Supreme Court will on Wednesday assess whether state governments have complied with its order to notify core and buffer areas of tiger reserves in line with the provisions of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, after banning organized tourism in breeding grounds of the big cats...

-The Hindu Maharashtra recorded the maximum number of deaths due to serious adverse events (SAEs) during drug trials, while Madhya Pradesh saw the least number of such deaths. According to data disclosed by the Drug Controller-General of India, during the 49-month period (January 2008-January 2012), the country recorded 2,061 drug trial-related deaths. But data has been given only for 1,603 of the 2,061 deaths. Maharashtra recorded the maximum number of 268 deaths to...

-The Hindu Sowing of kharif paddy has improved thanks to rain in some parts of the deficient areas, but it is still lower by 11.40 lakh hectares as compared to last year. If compared with last year’s sowing — a record foodgrains production year — at this time of the year, the area under paddy, pulses, coarse cereals, oilseeds and cotton is still lower. An inter-Ministerial group that reviewed the situation on Friday...

-The Hindustan Times Indian taxpayers may have lost as much as Rs. 3.8 lakh crore in scams in the power, aviation and coal sectors over the past eight years, the country's state auditor said in reports tabled before Parliament. The Comptroller and Auditor General charged the government with allotting coalfields and land for power projects and Delhi’s airport to private firms at a fraction of the market price, bringing the corruption issue...

-IANS BHUBANESWAR: About six per cent of rural women in Odisha get married earlier than thelegal age of 18, according to the latest government survey released here Friday.  The annual health survey conducted in 1,798 rural and 566 urban units comprising a total of 4,56,413 households and covering nearly 20 lakh people in the state revealed that the marriage of girls below legal age is rampant in rural areas.  "It varies from 0.5...