-Live Mint/ Bloomberg Conflicts between industry and farmers getting worse as water becomes more and more scarce Sachin Ingale slipped out of his family's two-room, white-painted mud hut about 4pm and walked into their farm field where the 22-year-old took a deep swig of pesticide from a plastic bottle. He died later that evening. Four months later, the mercury is pushing 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit) in his village in...

-Live Mint Cherry-picked indicators of progress cannot convey the complexities of development in India's diverse states Which Indian states have fared better than their peers and which ones have done relatively worse is a perennial question for discussion. There is more at stake than mere grading of states here. Investment flows, central government funds and praises for being a good state are all linked to this seemingly straightforward question. It seems to...

-The Hindu   ‘Start with areas where the Army is no longer required to operate' Raking up the issue of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) again, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday hoped that the Centre would revoke the controversial Act from those areas in the State where it was not required. "We understand that you (the Centre) cannot take it (AFSPA) away overnight. It has to be a...

-The Times of India BHOPAL: Prospective grooms in Sehore district are posing along side toilets at their homes. This picture would be one of the most important proofs in ensuring their marriage at mass marriages organized by the government in the district. The local administration has made the picture of the groom along with the toilet a mandatory requirement for getting registered for mass marriage ceremonies and avail benefits under the Mukhyamantri...

-The Hindu JAGDALPUR: With semi-automatic weapons slung over their shoulders, these soldiers are more than just patrolling arterial village roads. They are in the midst of full-scale battles in which several people, mostly non-combatants, are getting killed. Forces have been mobilised in their thousands; dehydrated soldiers are getting evacuated by the Indian Air Force; corpses are removed in huge tractors meant for transporting farm produce; and Maoists are intensifying coordination at...