Despite erratic and unevenly distributed Monsoon this year, the government has predicted that food production in the state will touch 90.94 lakh tonnes in 2010-11. Agriculture minister Umesh V Katti on Tuesday said this year's production will surpass the target of 87.27 lakh tonnes. "This will be made possible by implementing technologies like precision farming and timely distribution of quality seeds," he pointed out. EXPERT PANEL ON CARDS The government will soon set...

The long and heavy Monsoon has taken a toll on Himachal Pradesh's vegetable production, say farmers. The production of tomato, capsicum, cabbage, potato and cucumber, among other vegetables, is significantly lower this time. The excess rain has either triggered the spread of diseases or the standing crops have simply rotted away due to excess moisture, say farmers. Vegetables are largely grown in the mid-hills of the state which fall in Solan, Shimla, Sirmaur,...

Bhaggu, 65, says he can trace his memory back to when he was five. And he remembers the paradox that’s taunted him since: Of his village — Sohras, in northern Uttar Pradesh — being flooded every year and him having no water to drink. “They (government) distribute food, tarpaulin, kerosene, matchboxes but never made any arrangement for water,” says Bhaggu, a farm worker who goes by one name. “I think no...

The prolonged Monsoon and the diseases that come with it have really tested Delhi’s health-care infrastructure. There is a huge shortage of beds in government as well as private hospitals. You can find patients wreathing in fever in the corridors, emergency wards, everywhere. Why aren’t there enough hospitals around? Contrast this with the media: Nowhere in the world will you find so many newspapers, magazines and television channels than India....

The downstream impact of dams in the Brahmaputra river basin has been a major issue of concern in recent years in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh (AP), even as plans unfold to develop at least 135 large hydropower projects to produce approximately 57,000 MW of electricity in AP alone. The past three months have seen major developments on the issue. Both an Expert Committee of Academics and a House Committee of...