-The Hindu Business Line Raw silk duty cut triggers sharp fall Bengaluru: Unable to deal with mounting debts amidst diminishing returns from his three-acre farm, Siddaramu, a sericulture farmer in his mid-fifties at Abburdoddi near Channapatna, committed suicide recently in his silkworm rearing house. The trigger for this unfortunate incident was the crash in silk cocoon prices and the issuance of recovery notice by the bank, says Chandramma, his wife. Other crops too failed Siddaramu,...

-The Times of India In recent months, racial violence has been foregrounded in the US, with the Charleston incident in which nine black church-goers were gunned down and other incidents of police brutality that are no longer possible to deny. And all of a sudden, Black Twitter has become a preoccupation with the US media, reminding it of its own evasions. Hashtags around race like #icantbreathe #Blacklivesmatter found their way into many...

-FAO September’s post-2015 development agenda summit of heads of state and government may well attract global headlines this year, but much of the really significant work is being executed behind the scenes. As statisticians lock heads to come up with a workable indicator framework to measure and monitor the ambitious Agenda, Vikas Rawal, Associate Professor at the Centre for Economic Studies and Planning, at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, describes the make-up...

-The Times of India RAIPUR: Farmers in Kanker region in tribal Bastar are being trained by the government to cultivate itch-free varieties of yam which could be grown on barren portions on land providing them a source income. State agriculture department has tested soil in the area and found it suitable for cultivating yam. Local farmers are provided itch-free variety and being sent groups of 10 to Bilaspur to learn method of...

-Down to Earth After two budgets and Rs 5,300 crore in funding, the Centre's micro irrigation project that promises water to every farmland is not even close to a roll-out The news of deficit monsoons this year has once again left the Centre worried. A concerned prime minister chaired a high-level meeting on June 8 where he emphasised the need to quickly augment the irrigation capacity of the country. But he conveniently...