-The Hindu Governance performance ranked over a decade Regional disparity has been growing over the years, shows a new study which evaluates the governance performance of 19 major States. The research, conducted by Sudipto Mundle, Samik Chaudhury and Satadru Sikdar, was published in The Economic and Political Weekly earlier this month. Five of the six best-performing States in 2001 — Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Punjab — continue to be the...

-The Hindu Business Line New Delhi: India has sought the cooperation of fellow BRICS members — Brazil, Russia, China and South Africa — to help meet the country’s production shortfall in pulses and oilseeds. Agriculture Ministers from BRICS countries have agreed to promote production of pulses in their respective countries and raise awareness about its nutritional aspects, according to the joint declaration adopted at the end of their meeting in New Delhi,...

-The Hindu Business Line Although literacy levels are improving, there’s not enough learning happening. This calls for urgent attention This year, marks the 50th year of International Literacy Day. In 1966, UNESCO declared September 8 as International Literacy Day to “mobilize the international community and to promote literacy as an instrument to empower individuals, communities and societies”. At Independence in 1947, India had a literacy rate of 12 per cent, which stands today...

-The Economic Times NEW DELHI: The government's big plan to fight drought will be unveiled on Mahatma Gandhi's birthday on October 2, with three ministries on directions of the Prime Minister, joining hands to converge their schemes to 'drought-proof' vulnerable districts using technology. Narendra Modi, during meetings with the chief ministers of droughtaffected states earlier this year, had asked for a massive effort to be launched for water conservation and storage...

-The Hindu Business Line NEW DELHI: The Ministry ?of Environment and Forest (MoEF) ?has allayed concerns cited by environmentalists that the GEAC sub-committee that studied the bio-safety of GM (genetically modified) mustard did not have any ‘health expert’ on board?.? In a statement issued on Sunday, the ?Ministry clarified that the panel “had experts in subjects relevant to safety evaluation of GE (genetically-engineered) crops. “The GEAC in its 126th meeting held on 04.01.2016,...