-The Hindu A NABARD survey says middlemen funded by banks have kept growers captive to high-interest loans Jammu: Kashmir's acres of undulating apple orchards may soon be waste lands, a survey by the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) accessed by The Hindu shows. The Rs. 4,000-crore industry has been brought to its knees by a network of middle-order market functionaries comprising pre-harvest contractors (PHCs), commission agents (CAs) and wholesalers...

-The Times of India The Delhi High Court on Thursday issued notice to the Attorney General on a plea that the office of the law officer be declared a "public authority" under the RTI Act as the appointment is according to the Constitution. Justice G S Sistani gave six weeks to the AG to reply while hearing an appeal filed by Delhi-based RTI activist Subhash Chandra Aggarwal against a decision of the...

-The Hindu Jaipur: Slum dwellers in Jaipur will shortly get the benefit of a slew of schemes with the selection of the Rajasthan Capital in the National Urban Livelihood Mission. The Rajiv Awas Yojana will also be implemented here from next month for construction of houses for them. Jaipur Mayor Jyoti Khandelwal announced at a discourse on "Urban poverty and strengthening of civil society voices" here on Thursday that special measures would...

-The Financial Express UIDAI validates digital counterpart to tackle problem of letters lost in transit. To overcome the unending complaints of Aadhaar letters being lost in transit by India Post, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has decided to validate "e-aadhaar" as a secured electronic document "to be treated on a par with the printed Aadhaar letter". In an office memorandum issued on March 28 by UIDAI's Assistant Director General A Kharkwal,...

-The Hindu   High Court has been hearing a petition by non-government organisation After years of harassment from the police and municipal authorities, there is finally some good news for the rickshaw pullers and owners. In compliance with the directions of the Delhi High Court, the East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) on Wednesday announced a special drive for registration of cycle-rickshaws and rickshaw pullers through their Citizen Service Bureaus (CSB). Likewise, the North...