-The Tribune The lure for land at a reasonable rate and better funding options are drawing farmer-entrepreneurs from Punjab and Haryana to Canada The North American nation is drawing farmer-entrepreneurs in large numbers from India’s breadbasket — Punjab and Haryana. No, they aren’t the rich ones buying luxury villas in exotic locales. They are the aspiring ones who expect to hit pay dirt as authorities in the former English colony provide agricultural...

-Livemint.com Rural development secretary Amarjeet Sinha on how MGNREGS has evolved since 2006 to result in income, acreage, water tables, productivity and fodder availability Agrarian distress and rural distress are terms used interchangeably, but the rural economy today is very different from what it was many years ago, given the diversification of rural incomes and hence incorrect to think one means the other, says Amarjeet Sinha, secretary, ministry of rural development. In...

-The Times of India GUWAHATI: With the national elections just a year away, the government on Saturday announced a mega investment and connectivity programme for the north-eastern states, entailing inflow of nearly Rs 10,000 crore through over 400 programmes expected to be rolled out in the next four years. The investments relate to enhancing the telecom infrastructure in the state, apart from setting up BPOs, boosting electronics manufacturing, giving a push to...

-Livemint.com The capricious nature of groundwater has resulted in so much exploitation and overuse that we now have a consistent crisis. Presenting a roadmap for groundwater governance and information transparency using technology India is a groundwater civilization. Almost all Indians use groundwater, directly or indirectly, each day. This tradition goes back more than 2,000 years. India is criss-crossed with the most elegant wells that tap into the shallow aquifer. The oldest wells...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: In the wake of recent violence in parts of northern India, allegedly by Kanwarias, the Supreme Court (SC) on Friday decried what it said is the increasing lawlessness and vandalism indulged in by religious groups and said it would lay down guidelines to prevent vandalism by mobs. The top court further said the destruction of private property, even if no FIR is filed, is a cognizable...