Rural development minister Jairam Ramesh today questioned the policy of providing free electricity to farmers in certain states, saying excessive pumping by cultivators had led to a depletion in groundwater levels. “In district after district, groundwater tables are falling. And there is no doubt that free electricity has caused excessive use of water. Our policies on pricing of water also do not lead to conservation. So we have to rethink on...

The enduring memory that he has of his father is when the police took him away from the dinner table as the family had just sat down to eat their food. “He had barely put the first morsel in his mouth when the police came to pick him up. After that day five years ago, it will be today that the entire family will again have food together,” 11-year-old Osama Raees...

-The Economic Times   The Congress-led government has tried to reach out to Other Backward Communities (OBCs) by drastically relaxing the definition of 'creamy layer' and including those with an annual income of Rs 12 lakh in metros eligible for job reservations. The eligibility level in non-metros will be an annual income of Rs 9 lakh.  The existing ceiling for this is an annual income of 4.5 lakh. The National Commission for Backward...

State notifies rules; public suggestions incorporated The State government has finally notified the rules under the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009. While the notification was published in the Government gazette dated November 12, the rules were displayed in the public domain (www.tn.gov.in) on Tuesday evening. With this, the State has taken an important milestone in ensuring education for all children between six and 14 years of age. Education...

Sivadasan's five-acre farm used to be a solitary patch in Kerala's Palakkad district, with bitter gourd, cucumber, cow peas and lady's finger growing amid a landscape dotted with paddy fields and plantations of rubber and spices.  Just five years later, more than 1.45 lakh farmers in the southern state have joined Sivadasan and started growing vegetables, reflecting a palpable shift sweeping across the Indian countryside.  "Vegetables are always more profitable than paddy,"...