-The Telegraph   Jhargaon holds out hope that success is possible, even in Jharkhand. Two years after it was chosen as a model, over 1,000 residents of this nondescript hamlet of Gumla, 110km from the state capital, want to junk their BPL cards. For, self respect does not allow them to be claimants of government dole. If self-sufficiency is their goal, the people of Jhargaon, in Toto panchayat of Gumla Sadar block, 10km...

The government, the largest owner of landed property in the country, is preparing a comprehensive land sale policy to raise revenues and check corruption in government-owned property deals. The finance ministry will shortly move a cabinet note for bringing in a new uniform policy on 'land alienation' by government agencies, with an eye on removing discretionary powers of individual ministers and bureaucrats, said a government official. In big cities, large tracts...

-The Deccan Chronicle   India needs to have a proper set of protocols and a credible regulatory mechanism to address issues related to genetically modified crops, according to Abhijit Sen, member of the Planning Commission. Mr Sen was addressing a gathering at the inaugural day of the two-day international seminar on ‘Biotechnology in Indian agriculture: performance, potential and concerns’ here on Wednesday. He said that the attempt to introduce Bt brinjal failed because...

The region that consumes 50 per cent of the country’s pork is staring at an outbreak of classical swine flu and a host of other dreaded livestock diseases in the coming two months, experts have predicted. The project directorate on animal disease monitoring and surveillance, Bangalore, has warned that four livestock diseases, including haemorrhagic septicaemia, black quarter, foot-and-mouth disease and classical swine fever, will hit the Northeast in February-March. The directorate, which...

-The Hindu   While Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her government sought to downplay the fact that farmers were being forced to commit suicide in the State because of penurious conditions, Leader of the Opposition Surya Kanta Mishra said here on Monday that the Chief Minister keeps maintaining that nothing is wrong whenever anything construed as a criticism of her government is brought to her notice. Not in concurrence with claims that farmers...