-The Telegraph Guwahati: The Centre today asked Assam to tread the "lab-to-land" route to boost farm output and said an Indian agricultural research institute would be set up in the state. Union agriculture minister Radha Mohan Singh said Assam should make optimum use of its soil, which is of the highest quality, on the lines of Pusa (in Bihar where the research institute was incepted in 1905), to boost agricultural output. "Assam has...

-The Economic Times NEW DELHI: India is poised to become the world's fastest-growing major economy, possibly overtaking a slowing China this year itself, according to data released by the statistics office on Monday. But the numbers, based on a new series, seem to have intensified the bewilderment among experts who see little evidence of such a sharp growth surge. "The numbers are quite puzzling," said Soumya Kanti Ghosh, chief economic advisor, State...

-The Hindu Business Line Seek clarification on US trade representative's testimony that India has committed to address IP issues that concern America Mumbai: Has India informally agreed to make changes in its Intellectual Property Rights regime on the basis of US concerns? A sizeable section of the Indian pharmaceutical industry and some pro-health groups are worried that it has, following US Trade Representative Ambassador Michael Froman's testimony to the Senate Committee on...

-The Indian Express The finance minister plans to scrap the supply of subsidised kerosene through the public distribution system (PDS) and high time, too. To begin with, why has the kerosene subsidy needed reform for decades and yet reform never materialised? Kerosene obtained through the PDS, being cheaper, is used to adulterate diesel and petrol. Kerosene leakages in the PDS are estimated to be 40 per cent of total allocations. The diversion...

-The Economic Times NEW DELHI: In a major boost to reforms in food procurement and distribution, the Food Corporation of India (FCI) has assured the government it will be able to implement major recommendations of the high-level panel that has recommended a complete revamp of the body that plays a key role in the country's food security. The panel has made path-breaking recommendations such as direct cash transfer for fertilizers and grains...