Centre to also give 50% subsidy for new mills, technical help to cultivators. The Union agriculture ministry has identified eight states where the Budget annoucement on expanding the area under oil palm cultivation can be implemented. It has decided to provide 50 per cent subsidy for setting up palm oil extraction units. India imports about 8.2 million tonnes of edible oil in a year and 80 per cent of this is palm...

South India is way ahead of other regions in encashing on the tax-free special economic zones scheme as 79 of 130 functional SEZs are located in four southern states. Among southern states, Andhra Pradesh is on the top of the table with a maximum number of 32 operational special economic zones (SEZs) followed by Tamil Nadu (22), Karnataka (20) and Kerala (7), according to the latest government data. The sector-wise data shows...

A couple of years ago, Mahabubnagar district in India’s southeastern state of Andhra Pradesh had one of its driest years since 1929. The region recorded 90 percent less rainfall than the norm. But the mass exodus expected when droughts cause crops to fail didn’t happen. Men didn’t leave to work in cities. They stayed put. This was partly down to a network of 8,000 highly motivated women. The Adarsha Mahila...

Amnesty International has urged Indian authorities to order an impartial inquiry into the police firing leading to the death of two persons against demonstrators objecting to a thermal power project in northern Srikakulam district, Andhra Pradesh. On February 28, at least two protestors were killed, allegedly as a result of police firing, and five others sustained injuries as police tear-gassed them. The protests for cancellation of the project took place at the...

Smart card technology can be used to streamline India's unwieldy PDS. But it is yet to prove itself under real world challenges. Smart cards have become the latest buzzword to remedy India's public distribution system (PDS) — one of the largest food grain delivery networks in the world with more than 500,000 ‘ration' shops. Electronic voting machines have streamlined Indian elections. Credit cards, which can be swiped for payment at any...