-The Telegraph New Delhi: Bihar and Jharkhand are the most laggard among states when it comes to implementing midday meals in schools, child services and other social initiatives, reveals a recent study. In all, the study by IIT-Delhi identified Bihar and Jharkhand as the worst performers for five social welfare programmes which also include the public distribution system, the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act and social security pensions. The study, which covered 10...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The BJP government's 'Make in India' initiative could get top billing in the 2015-16 Union Budget with tax breaks and other measures for several sectors. Make in India is the centerpiece of the Narendra Modi administration's bid to revive manufacturing activities and create millions of jobs. With the Chinese economy slowing, India senses an opportunity in the industrial sector. A blueprint for the 25 identified sectors was...

-PTI Hyderabad: The Andhra Pradesh government has signed a pact with the International Crop Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) to provide assistance in making agriculture sustainable and profitable. "The agreement with ICRISAT is part of the State Government's plans to increase productivity of agriculture and allied sectors," the state government said. The Memorandum of Agreement was signed yesterday in the presence of Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu by Special Chief Secretary...

-Down to Earth The situation of India's farmers has only become grimmer in the past decade, according to the latest National Sample Survey Office report The lot of the embattled Indian farmer only keeps on getting worse with the passage of time. In the last 10 years, the voluminous debt of Indian agricultural households has increased almost four-fold whereas their undersized monthly income from cultivation has increased three-fold. Even the number of...

-Down to Earth The programme does not address challenges that farmers face in eastern states Farmers in Jharkhand have not derived significant benefits from the new Green Revolution programme initiated by the Centre in 2010-11, according to a report by non-profits working with the farmers in the state. The report claims that the government tried to implement the 1960s model of Green Revolution that increased agricultural production in Punjab and Haryana, without...