-The Hindu Business Line The national sample survey shows there has been a substantial shift from paid or recognised work to unpaid domestic activities for both rural and urban women There has been much discussion on the evidence from recent NSS large sample surveys on employment, of the significant decline in women's workforce participation rates. Various explanations have been offered for this, including rising real wages that have allowed women in poor households...

-The Hindu Business Line   Chemical-intensive agriculTure has ravaged our soil quality. History tells us that the consequences could be catastrophic During the 86th birthday celebrations of the Indian Council for AgriculTural Research, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that Indian farmers "deserve a standing ovation". However, he reminded the gathered scientists that it was not enough to sit in five-star seminar rooms and analyse why something could not be done; rather, they should...

-The Hindu   More and more parents in big cities are choosing schools that offer an alternative system of education over conventional institutions in the hope that children will grow into well-rounded personalities away from the rat race and uninhibited by the pressure to be in the top percentile For parents of today, finding a "good school" for their children is a quest that requires a lot of thought and effort. But in...

-The Hindu Guwahati: About 3.68 lakh people in 14 districts of Assam have been affected as the flood situation Turned grim with the Brahmaputra and its tributaries - Desang, Dhansiri, Jiabharali, Beki and Puthimari - submerging vast areas in 791 villages. Floodwaters have inundated about 70 per cent of the Kaziranga National Park, forcing animals to migrate to high grounds near the southern boundary across the National Highway 37. Environment and Forest...

-India Today Geography of rice and wheat has been transformed with Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh generating surpluses Almost 50 years ago, Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri went on air to appeal to Indians to skip a meal a day. Foodgrain supplies had come under strain after the 1965 drought, and the patriotic ethos cautioned against over-consumption: what you ate left that much less for the rest. Today, it is...