-The Telegraph Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has decided to impart disaster management training to 10,000 college students in the wake of the state witnessing two consecutive calamities within a fortnight. "We have planned to integrate youth power with disaster management. Ten thousand student volunteers from 100 colleges will be trained on basic management skills by the Odisha State Disaster Management Authority," chief minister Naveen Patnaik said today. Stating that people in the 13...

-The Economic Times KOCHI: If you want a good cook, go to a prison in Kerala. Yes, jails are sprouting culinary talent, and tasty, healthy and affordable food prepared by the inmates has become a big hit. People are gobbling up chapatis, curries, idlis, banana chips, laddus and cakes made by convicts at half the market price; and next month its popularity will acquire divine proportions as devotees at the Sabarimala temple...

-PTI NEW DELHI: Rain and flash floods have pushed back development works in Uttarakhand by decades and the challenge at the moment is to build smarter projects without impacting the fragile environment of the hilly region, said World Bank's country director Onno Ruhl. "In Uttarakhand, the challenge is to build smarter, so that they do not undermine the fragility of the environment," he told PTI after the approval of a $250 million...

-The Hindu BJP Chief Minister Raman Singh is the face of the reformed public distribution system in Chhattisgarh and indeed, he is still banking on it for a third consecutive term despite the anti-incumbency factor against several MLAs and a few ministers in his council. In his recent vikas yatra, he showcased development and focussed on the path-breaking Public Distribution System (PDS) reforms that were dovetailed into the Chhattisgarh Food Security Act...

-The Times of India SHIMLA: Nand Lal Sharma was a Class VIII student when 71 bighas of land owned by his family in Bilaspur district of Himachal Pradesh was acquired for the construction of Bhakra dam. Today, Nand Lal, now in his 70s, is heading a movement to ensure the proper settlement of Bhakra dam oustees since the majority of people who gave their land for the "new temple of resurgent...