-The Hindu The fact that a megapolis, and not the drought-affected areas of Maharashtra, is the biggest beneficiary, has angered many Bristling with glass towers and commercial districts, Mumbai is unquestionably the financial capital of India. The most greenery an average Mumbaikar can hope to grow is a few herbs in window flower-pots. Which is why it seems strange that the city will be the biggest beneficiary of agriculture loans, as projected by...

-The Hindu Business Line Registration committee favours review of each pesticide in 10-year intervals New Delhi: The Anupam Verma Committee, set up to review the continued use of 66 pesticides that have been barred/restricted for use in farming in other countries, has recommended a ban on 13 ‘extremely hazardous’ pesticides, phasing out of six ‘moderately hazardous’ ones by 2020, and review of 27 pesticides in 2018. The six pesticides suggested for phasing out...

-The Hindu Ex-official says priority setting in India is based on consultation, not evidence. Bangkok: India faces serious challenges in implementing universal health coverage policies because of a “serious knowledge gap” among policy-makers and a “general unwillingness for change”, Rakesh Srivastava, former Director-General of Health Service, says. At a session on “Enabling better decisions for better health: embedding fair & systematic processes into priority setting for universal health coverage” here, Mr. Srivastava said...

-Economic and Political Weekly Agriculture cannot be revived without a different approach to water, soil, crops and research. For the second year in succession, rainfall in the monsoon season has been less than normal. As many as 302 out of the 640 districts in the country have been declared drought-hit and the impact of the drought is the severest in nine major states of south, central and east India. It is striking...

-ABP Live blog This is fabulous news. Perhaps the best we heard in recent times. The tiny, land-locked Himalayan State of Sikkim has become fully organic. All credit goes to Chief Minister Pawan Kumar Chamling for making that possible. It took almost 12 years to realize that dream. When Pawan Kumar Chamling made a declaration in the State assembly way back in 2003 to go completely organic, I doubt if many experts...