-The Times of India COIMBATORE: In light of the delayed southwest monsoon and severe rainfall deficit, agriculture experts have advised farmers to go in for short-term crops this year as they require less water. "We are telling them to move from their traditional crops and try short-term crops like pulses, millets, sunflower or maize," said K Velayutham, director of crop management at TNAU. Except for maize, the cycle for the other three...

-PTI   India is the lowest performing country among the BRICS nations in all categories of the HDI with the exception of life expectancy, which is lower in South Africa as a result of the HIV/AIDS epidemic  In a sign that shows India has a lot of catching up to do, the country's ranking in the Human Development Index (HDI) remained unchanged at 135 in 2013, reflecting little improvement in the living standard...

-Deccan Herald The Green Revolution has changed life in Indian villages, but the main beneficiaries were the landlords. Daily Labourers remain poor and marginalised. The limits of using ever more fertiliser and pesticides are becoming apparent. Many farmers are confused because extension services want them to reconsider practices they were told to abandon not that long ago. A member of the Santal tribe, an Adivasi community, assesses things from the village perspective. Since independence...

-The Hindu Business Line The case against Labour inspector raj is overstated. Labour courts need to be strengthened The Labour reform debate in India has acquired renewed vigour under the new government. The Rajasthan and the Haryana governments have recently proposed to amend a few Central Labour laws. The Ministry of Labour and Employment has also circulated Labour reform proposals. The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion has issued an "advisory" to the...

-The Economic Times NEW DELHI: Sanitation projects to reduce open defecation, increasing green cover and emphasis on creating assets form the crux of the Narendra Modi-led government's blueprint for redeploying UPA's flagship social sector programme - the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act or MGNREGA. Top officials aware of the government's re-orientation roadmap for the rural employment guarantee scheme, being steered by rural development minister Nitin Gadkari, told ET that assessment...