Some good news awaits the agriculture sector in Bihar. Around 150 potential investors from all over the country met in Patna today, with an aim to invest in the untapped food-processing sector in state. The motive behind the summit was to plan investments in the food-processing sector by boosting the market and database intelligence system. Enhancing crop productivity to ensure availability of the raw material required for the industry and promotion...

Experts show how electricity for poor people is possible Is electricity for all a pipe dream? Should we forget about electricity for all until we are able to provide more basic amenities like drinking water, nutritious food, education and healthcare?   India is home to the largest number of people without electricity. Half of Indian households do not have access to power, which constitute a third of the world's population without electricity. Though...

The government will soon have to decide on the proposal of direct cash payments in lieu of food subsidy as a key committee of Parliament has asked the ministries concerned to decide quickly on the issue. This cash payment through smart cards is increasingly being seen as an option to prevent leakage in the public distribution system (PDS), and certain variants of the system are already being experimented with by...

India, the world’s second-biggest rice grower, may have a record harvest this year as increased planting offset drought in the east of the country. Production may total 100 million tonnes in the year ending June 2011, compared with 89.3 million tonnes a year ago, said Vijay Setia, president of All India Rice Exporters’ Association. Output was a record 99.2 million tonnes in the year ended June 30, 2009, according to the...

Over the past three years, the number of attacks on schools has seen a steep rise. The argument advanced by the Naxals is that schools have become police stations and security forces take cover here. To substantiate their claim they have never attacked a school when children were in it and attacks have always taken place when the school premises were closed. Security personnel who battle the Naxals however claim that...