-The Hindu     Aberrations in monsoon behaviour are not uncommon. What is new is the difficulty in forecasting caused by factors coming under the generic title, ‘Climate change.' Forecasts by the South Asian Climate Outlook Forum and the India Meteorological Department indicate that the south-west monsoon rainfall may be deficient. Also, there is a possibility of the evolution of an El Niño event during June to September. There is a 45 per cent...

-Live Mint To alleviate poverty and extend true food security to its people India must bring efficiency to public expenditures In the Indian economy, where almost half of the average household's expenditures goes toward food and half the labour force is engaged in agriculture, one cannot simply wish away the centrality of agriculture just because its contribution to gross domestic product (GDP) hovers around a comparatively low 14%. India's agriculture is responsible...

-The Hindustan Times New Delhi: Life-saving drugs that need to be stored at low temperatures left out in the open, touts having a free run of transport offices and schools violating guidelines - all this and more was unearthed during raids by the Delhi government officers on Thursday. On the directions of the Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung, 19 teams of senior officers fanned out in the city, exposing thriving malpractices in...

-The Hindustan Times   The June 2013 disaster in Uttarakhand had taken many - including the state administration - by surprise. But it should not have been so because it was a tragedy waiting to happen. The immediate reason may have been a natural cause - the state was hit by its heaviest rainfall on record that month, causing lakes and rivers to burst their banks, inundating towns and villages downstream -...

-Reuters   The panel says hydro-power plants has led to the build up of huge volumes of sediment in rivers that is not managed properly New Delhi: Badly managed hydro-power projects in northern India were partly to blame for devastating floods last year that killed thousands of people and caused extensive damage, an environment ministry panel said in a report obtained by Reuters on Tuesday.   The panel findings highlight the problem facing India, one...