-The Business Standard Hydropower vs environmentalists in India's hills The green bench of the Himachal Pradesh High Court has ordered Jaiprakash Associates Ltd to dismantle the thermal power unit at the company’s cement plant campus in Bagheri, near Solan (Himachal Pradesh), and also pay Rs 100 crore as damages for obtaining environmental clearance in a “dubious” manner. The bench, moreover, turned down the company’s plea that, since the thermal plant was...

-The Economic Times Ashok Gulati, chairman of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices, warns that India will have a record food grain stock of 75 million tonnes by June when wheat procurement for the year would be over. A third of it would be stored in the open, and vulnerable to damage from rain, as covered storage capacity is only 50 million tonnes. If these stocks are not run down...

Inspired by Japanese agricultural scientist Masanobu Fukuoka, Raju Titus has taken to ‘no-till farming' and flaunting the results Three kilometres from Hoshangabad, Madhya Pradesh, on the road to Bhopal, is situated the Titus Farm that proudly flaunts its fertile expanse of 12 acres and a unique farming method that can potentially help overcome the worrying suicidal trend among farmers of the State, and perhaps of the country. The sole but strong...

-PTI Ensure that findings of the probe are kept in a sealed cover The Supreme Court on Wednesday asked the Election Commission to proceed with its probe into the authenticity of the former Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan's spendings during the 2009 State Assembly elections, allegedly involving expenses on “paid news.” A Bench of Justices Altamas Kabir and J. Chelameshwar, however, asked the Commission's counsel Meenakshi Arora to ensure that findings of the...

With some States defaulting on payment of their share of funds for providing meals to children in government schools, adversely affecting the implementation of the Mid-Day Meal Scheme, the Centre has now asked all States to consider adopting Andhra Pradesh's model ‘Green Channel Scheme.' The A.P. model makes funds available throughout the year. “All States and Union Territories may take the lead from Andhra Pradesh and streamline the release of funds,”...