-The Indian Express A tussle is on between El Niño and the Indian Ocean Dipole. Government cannot afford to be a bystander. The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted that India will get deficient rains in 2015, likely to be 88 per cent of the long period average (LPA) of 89 cm, which is the average seasonal rain (June-September) received by the country in the 50 years between 1951 and 2000....

-The Indian Express It can be strengthened —by the collection of taxes at the local level, for instance. Democratic decentralisation, conceived two decades ago, seems to be a lost cause at first sight. Beyond lip service by politicians, neither panchayats nor municipalities have captured the public imagination as viable, responsive, accountable institutions of government. Just after the Karnataka panchayat elections, which ended on June 2, the continued disempowerment of local governments is...

-Deccan Herald New Delhi: The online booking system at the AIIMS has picked up pace after the administration made the option of booking available to patients through their Aadhaar numbers. The facility was launched by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences on May 7. Once the patient seeking an appointment enters the Aadhaar number or Unique Identification Number (UID), the personal details will be traced and the Unique Health Identification Number (UHID) will...

-PTI DEHRADUN: Uttarakhand Governor K K Paul has asked scientists of central research institutions in the state to come up with ways to encourage small farmers to begin organic farming. Paul made these suggestions to the scientists during his his visit to Central Institute of Temperate Horticulture (CITH) and Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI) in Mukteshwar to study the possibilities of benefiting local farming and animal husbandry through these central research institutions,...

-IANS Mumbai: A new survey has revealed that 80% of all Indians are protein-deficient. As many as 91% vegetarians and 85% non-vegetarians among Indians are deficient in proteins, the survey titled 'Protein Consumption in the Diet of adult Indians Survey' (PRODIGY) said. Conducted by IMRB in seven major cities among 1,260 respondents, it revealed that majority of Indians are not getting the right amount of proteins in their diet daily. The survey included...