-India Climate Dialogue The meteorological department’s analysis of annual rainfall for the past 50 years has found significant increasing or decreasing trends in districts that could put a spanner into India’s food security scenario. Since June 13, there has been a hiatus in the advance of southwest monsoon in the country due to the weakening of its circulation pattern. This dry spell is expected to soon change as the monsoon is likely...

-Business Standard In the case of paddy, the current bout of rain should push transplanting crops from nurseries in Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, eastern Uttar Pradesh, and Bihar Mumbai/ New Dehi: The southwest monsoon, after a relatively lull phase, has become active over the past two days in belts of eastern, central, northern and western India where mainly pulses, oilseeds, cotton, and paddy are grown. There are forecasts of heavy to very heavy rain. In...

-IANS The crisis is mainly being brought about by three specific factors: climate change, pollution and poor farming practices Shimla and Bengaluru are two very disparate cities. One is a quaint hill station that acts as a summer retreat for most Indians while the other is a bustling IT hub, which makes it a popular destination for most of the corporates in India. Both are poles apart and, quite aptly, situated in opposite...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The government has rejected an “opinion poll” by Thomson Reuters Foundation that said India is the most dangerous country for women, saying the conclusion is not based on any data but solely on subjective opinion. With the report — which names India as more unsafe than strife-hit Syria and Iraq where violence against women is endemic, or deeply conservative Saudi Arabia with its discriminatory laws —...

-The Indian Express Poor quality government schools make higher education out of reach for non-elite . That’s the real problem, not public-funded universities. In his article, ‘Let the elite pay’ (IE, June 23), Surjit Bhalla argues for the continuation of the highly discriminatory school and higher education systems that already provide education to most on the basis of ability to pay. He acknowledges that “children of the poorest of the poor”do not...