-The Hindu Business Line The Karnataka government’s efforts to popularise millet cultivation seem to be yielding results, thanks to a rising consumer demand based on awareness about healthy alternatives. Krishna Byre Gowda, Karnataka’s Agriculture Minister, cited drought, climate change and erratic monsoon as the driving factors for popularising millets such as ragi, jowar and bajra. These are less water-intensive crops compared to paddy or sugarcane and a shift to millet cultivation will help...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: Health activists campaigning for affordable treatment on Wednesday urged the Narendra Modi government to resist "pressure" from foreign medical device makers and expand price caps to new classes of medical devices. The All India Drug Action Network (AIDAN), a consortium of non-government activists' groups, said it was concerned that a body of foreign medical device manufacturers had petitioned the US government seeking suspension or withdrawal of certain trade...

-Livemint.com In India, 9 million people left farming between 2001 and 2011 largely due to distress, not because industry invited them, says Shyam Khadka, India’s representative at the FAO Shyam Khadka, India’s representative at the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, says more Indians are moving out of agriculture due to distress and not because the manufacturing sector is inviting them. In an interview, Khadka calls for converting food...

-Livemint.com It is clear that not only has the govt failed to do anything to revive the sagging rural demand, it has also refused to acknowledge the demand problem The fact that the economy is on a downward slide is no longer a matter of debate. It is neither a technical issue nor is it a transient blip which will go away on its own. However, matters are complicated as far as...

-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...