For those who asked why the farmers of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and other states hit the streets during June and July this year, the report prepared by the Committee on Doubling Farmers’ Income could be a ready reckoner. Prepared under the chairpersonship of Ashok Dalwai, the report on Doubling Farmers’ Income after studying the trends in crop income and cost associated with 23 crops, reveals a mixed picture across the...

-Hindustan Times Of the affected states are also those announced farm loan waivers just months ago to bail out beleaguered farming community. With the southwest monsoon season about to end in less than three weeks’ time, the government’s drought warning system predicts there could be a drought in 225 districts across “17 agriculturally important states of India,” putting further strain on distressed agriculture sector. According to the government’s National Agriculture and Drought...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: For the first time, as many as four states and a Union Territory have managed to bring down cases pending for over 10 years in their subordinate courts to almost zero. It's not a mean achievement, considering that decade-old cases in the country account for 23 lakh, or almost 9% of all cases pending in the subordinate courts. Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala and Chandigarh are...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: Hundreds of journalists, activists and Opposition leaders converged at the Press Club of India and other venues in Lutyens' Delhi to speak out against the fear that has set in after senior journalist Gauri Lankesh's murder. Journalists condemned the hate campaign by Twitter trolls followed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and called for introspection within news agencies on the role the media play as the fourth pillar of...

-Livemint.com Karnataka govt has stopped the sale of paddy seeds in some districts hoping to get farmers to switch to ragi and jowar among other coarse grains Bengaluru: Following a lukewarm response to its promotional efforts, Karnataka has resorted to more forceful measures to get farmers in the Cauvery command area to switch from cultivating water-intensive crops such as paddy and sugarcane to drought-tolerant millets as part of a plan to stabilize...