-The Hindu Kerala today is not generating enough jobs to meet the expectations of educated Keralites entering the labour market. Changing this is vital and doable Kerala’s development model is in focus yet again as the newly elected Left Democratic Front government is in the process of evolving a vision for the State’s economy. On the one hand, Kerala has made spectacular achievements in land reforms, education, and health since its formation. Amartya...

-Earth Island Journal It’s too early to hail Sikkim’s transition to chemicals-free agriculture an outright success, say observers Sikkim, the picturesque northeastern Indian state in the eastern Himalayas, announced in January that it had transitioned completely to organic agriculture — the first state in the South Asian nation to do so. The process of shifting to organic agriculture was initiated by the state government 13 years ago when it launched the Sikkim Organic...

-TheHansIndia.com Kothacheruvu (Anantapur): SC, ST farmers in several mandals in the district are opting for solar pump sets to enjoy uninterrupted power for seven hours at a stretch for their horticulture and vegetable plantations, thanks to the Rural Development Trust (RDT) which is giving a huge fillip to solar energy. Farmers unable to purchase pump sets or go in for borewells on their own, are being encouraged to form small groups...

-The Indian Express A Pulses Revolution is possible even in the most backward districts, as a PPP project in Bundelkhand has shown. Damoh (Madhya Pradesh): Zahim Khan has two major worries, as he surveys the urad (black gram) crop on 14 out of the 20-acres land being jointly cultivated by him with 13 other farmers. The immediate concern is rains. Damoh district in Madhya Pradesh’s Bundelkhand region, of which his village Somkheda is...

-Livemint.com The agriculture ministry says an area of 12.1 million hectares has been planted with pulses, over 11% more than the five-year average sown under the crop New Delhi: Buoyed by good rains and higher prices, farmers across India have planted a record area under different varieties of pulses, shows data released by the agriculture ministry on Friday. So far, an area of 12.1 million hectares has been planted with pulses, over...