-The Hindu Business Line Move will be followed by registration at the international level In a first step to protect brand ‘Khadi', a symbol of India's struggle for Independence, the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) has applied for registration of the trademark in India before moving to claim the international trademark, the MSME Ministry said on Wednesday. The move follows reports of the ‘Khadi' trademark already being registered in Germany, Spain, Hungary...

-Down to Earth Demonstrations follow T S R Subramanian Committee report recommending measures to fast-track environmental clearances Thousands of people gathered in Mumbai and Dehradun on Monday to protest recent attempts by the NDA government to undermine the rights of local communities to manage and protect their forests. Specifically targeted is the requirement for gram sabha consent on all projects seeking to divert forestland for non-forest purposes, as guaranteed by the Forest...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Maharashtra continues to face the challenge of dealing with rising cases of farmers' suicide. It has reported 204 such suicides in the first four months of the year - which is nearly half of what the state had reported in the entire year in 2013. The Union agriculture ministry on Tuesday informed the Lok Sabha of Maharashtra's dubious record followed by Telangana, Karnataka and Gujarat. Though...

-The Pioneer The Modi Government has set March 2017 deadline to provide safe drinking water in country's 17,995 habitations where rural people are being forced to consume contaminated water - laced with fluoride, arsenic and heavy toxic metals - causing major health problems. To achieve this, the Union Ministry of Water and Sanitation has outlined a two-pronged strategy entailing installation of community water purification plants or through piped water supply from alternate...

-The Indian Express The tragedy of several women dying after undergoing sterilisation operations in the Bilaspur district of Chhattisgarh has once again thrown up uncomfortable questions around India's population programme. Although the cases are being investigated and the exact cause of the deaths has not been ascertained, the incident brings to light the abysmal conditions in which women are compelled to accept government-provided contraception. India is a signatory to an agreement at...