The episodes of violence in land acquisition by the government, as witnessed recently in Bhatta-Parsaul in Uttar Pradesh and in other states earlier, occur because patterns of violence are inbuilt into the process. Despite a bill pending in Parliament since 2007, there has been little effort by political parties to evolve a consensus on acquisition of Agricultural land for non-Agricultural purposes. The law as at present and also the provisions...

  Can we agree in this country on a floor of human dignity below which we will not allow any human being to fall? No child, woman or man in this land will sleep hungry. No person shall be forced to sleep under the open sky. No parent shall send their child out to work instead of to school. And no one shall die because they cannot afford the cost of...

President Pratibha Devisingh Patil has stressed for increasing Agricultural production in the country by using modern technology. “We must not forget that the food security in the country is dependent on the development of agriculture sector,” she said while addressing members of Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly here on Friday afternoon before inaugurating the newly constructed central hall in the premises. The President said new agriculture system and modern technology should be used with...

So it's not going to be a normal monsoon . That's hardly surprising. Indian rainfall is erratic in four out of 10 years. About 80% of our land mass is highly vulnerable to drought, floods and cyclones. 50 million Indians are exposed to drought every year. The agriculture ministry says 68% of India's sown area is subject to drought in varying degrees. Annual average rainfall is 1,160 mm. However, 85% of...

-Reuters   India's crucial monsoon rains have advanced to remaining regions of cane-growing west Uttar Pradesh and some parts of pulses-growing Rajasthan ahead of schedule, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said in a statement. The monsoon has also reached remaining parts of wheat-growing Punjab and Haryana, the weather office said. India, one of the world's largest producers and consumers of crops such as rice, sugar and corn, relies heavily on the June to September...