-The Hindu     Even a cursory look at how Uttarakhand, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand have fared will tell us how the mere formation of a smaller State is no guarantee for better lives for those groups for whom these States have been created Smaller States have been the new political mode of addressing basic issues that were otherwise left unresolved. However, fighting for a new state and reconstructing on a more sustainable democratic content...

-Live Mint About 30% of 5,350 farmer households surveyed said they would vote for the BJP New Delhi: A third of farming households, a key electoral constituency, are likely to vote for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the upcoming general election, says a survey conducted by the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS) for Bharat Krishak Samaj, a farmers' association. About 30% of 5,350 farmer households surveyed across 18...

-Outlook Yavatmal (Maharashtra): Untimely rain and hailstorm destroyed crops and orchards spread over 90,000 hectares in Yavatmal district in the last fortnight, official sources said. Crop of wheat and gram on 87,881 hectare of land was wiped out, while vegetables spread over 1,036 hectares was destroyed, sources in the Agriculture Department said. "Fruits like oranges, papaya and lemon were also destroyed and the area under cultivation comes to over 882 hectares. The highest...

-AgriculturesNetwork.org The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to food, Olivier De Schutter, today calls for radical transformation of the world's food systems. The emphasis in Agricultural policy should shift from productivity to "well-being, resilience and sustainability", he says. This morning De Schutter presented his final report to the UN Human Rights Council after a six-year term as Special Rapporteur. In February, he also presented some of his findings at...

-Down to Earth Demand farm income commission; urge political parties to make it an election issue A number of farmers' organisations got together on Thursday to demand a minimum living income equivalent to that of Agricultural scientists for all farm households in the country and asked political parties to make it a part of their poll manifesto. Citing NSSO findings, they said the average monthly income of farm households in the country...