-Live Mint   The Musahar communities of eastern UP and Bihar have been unable to escape the trap of desperate poverty India has been conspicuously less successful than many other emerging economies in the scale, speed and depth of its reversal of poverty. But many scholars say that whatever one's measures of poverty, young people on an average have better educational and economic prospects today than those of their parents and grandparents. They...

-The New Indian Express   Bangalore: Water contamination is causing a major headache to officials busy tackling the acute water scarcity in most parts of the state. Many sources supplying drinking water to the affected areas have become contaminated with harmful substances such as fluoride, arsenic, iron etc. Drinking water sources in 3,207 of the 59,753 habitats in the state have been contaminated as on March 31, 2014, according to information obtained from the...

-Economic and Political Weekly     Disabled citizens face a traumatic time procuring the crucial disability certificate. Among the tasks that fill most Indians with dread is the act of procuring the all-important identity and eligibility documents so dear to the Indian bureaucracy. Imagine the plight of disabled citizens for whom getting a disability certificate that officially recognises their disability and medically ranks it in percentage terms has long been a nightmarish experience. Yet,...

-The Hindustan Times     At least 10 people have died of heat stroke in Odisha, which is witnessing an intense heat wave for the past 20 days. "Of the 42 deaths said to have been caused by the raging heat wave, officials have confirmed 10 deaths were caused by heat stroke," a report from the office of special relief commissioner (SRC) said. Three heat-stroke deaths occurred in Mayurbhanj district, while Balasore, Bhadrak,...

-The Times of India MADURAI: A Madurai-based farmer has managed to produce the highest yield in paddy by combining organic and chemical fertilisers, even as agriculture is undergoing the odds due to erratic rains. C Sethumathavan from Chinnaelanthaikulam produced the yield of 24 tonnes per hectare paddy in the 2013 - 14 kuruvai season. Hailing from a traditional agriculture family, Sethumathavan had cultivated paddy on his 10 acres farm. But he was...