-India Today Kottayam/ Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala has been facing unusually high rainfall since early August, which has led to statewide floods killing hundreds and causing severe damage. At least 167 people have lost their lives and over two lakh people are in relief camps. Most of the regions impacted by this monsoon were once classified as ecologically-sensitive zones (ESZs) by the Western Ghats Ecology Expert panel (WGEEP), also known as the Gadgil Committee. The report...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: A new set of economic data put out by a sub-committee of the National Statistical Commission has shown that the UPA government under Prime Minister Manmohan Singh clocked a double-digit growth rate of 10.08 per cent in 2006-07. The new calculations have to be vetted by the Central Statistical Commission and by a standards authority before they become officially acceptable. If the figure holds even after that scrutiny,...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: Chief election commissioner O.P. Rawat has told The Telegraph that it was "very difficult to fathom" whether the poll panel would be able to hold elections to the Lok Sabha and 11 Assemblies simultaneously. "It is feasible to conduct the Lok Sabha elections along with elections to five Assemblies whose terms expire around the same time. If one or two more states are added, it can be delivered....

-The Times of India GUWAHATI: With the national elections just a year away, the government on Saturday announced a mega investment and connectivity programme for the north-eastern states, entailing inflow of nearly Rs 10,000 crore through over 400 programmes expected to be rolled out in the next four years. The investments relate to enhancing the telecom infrastructure in the state, apart from setting up BPOs, boosting electronics manufacturing, giving a push to...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: A parliamentary panel examining the functioning of India's food safety authority has sought an explanation for low conviction rates in cases of adulteration and misbranding of food items and criticised the slow implementation of proposals to upgrade state food-testing laboratories. The parliamentary standing committee on health has asked the health ministry to determine whether the low conviction rates in cases of misbranded or adultered food are due to...