-The Financial Express The cumulative rainfall for southwest monsoon this year (July to September) has been 5% less than normal. The distribution has been uneven, with excess rains in some parts and shortage in several other areas like Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh and parts of Maharashtra. This has impacted sowing. As compared with last year, sowing is lower for foodgrains and oilseeds. Even the government’s first advance estimates say that...

-The Hindu Odisha tops in intake of greens, Kerala consumes the least; sweet consumption high in M.P., says study A nation-wide study carried out by the National Nutrition Monitoring Bureau (NNMB) to assess urban nutrition shows not only a great diversity in food consumption in 16 States in the country, but also that Indians consume far less than the recommended quantum of several micro-nutrients and vital vitamins. Andaman and Nicobar Islands reported...

-Firstpost.com Baba Ramdev's Ptanjali Ayurved Ltd is all set to win a multi-crore contract to manage mid-day meals in Uttar Pradesh schools, according to people in the know. Ramdev and his men have been actively lobbying for the Rs 700-crore contract in New Delhi, reaching out to influential cabinet ministers and making representations as to why the group is best placed to execute the project, the sources said. The contract is currently...

-Livemint.com The agriculture ministry has estimated foodgrain production at 134.7 million tonnes for the 2017-18 kharif crop season, 2.8% lower than last year New Delhi: Production of kharif crops this year is likely to be lower than last year, the agriculture ministry said in its first advance estimates, with the only exception being Sugarcane. Production of foodgrains such as rice, pulses and coarse cereals is likely at 134.7 million tonnes in 2017-18, about...

-The Times of India Farmers can't keep them, traders don't want to buy them, and gaushalas are full. The result: Havoc on farms and roads. Sunday Times travels across the country to find out how the population of stray bovines is becoming a ticking time bomb. The problem of stray cattle is not new in India, but in the last few months, it has reached alarming proportions. According to 2012 data from...