Agriculturally important UP, MP, Haryana, Maharashtra, and Punjab received 20-30% shortfall in rain
On a day when several mandis across the country are closed in protest against the recent Centre's decision to impose stringent stock-holding limit on pulses, the government clarified that limits have been defined as retail prices are still higher than last year though there is some moderation in the last few weeks. It said the same logic also holds true for edible oils, the import duties on which was slashed few days back and curbs lifted on import of refined oils. The decision on edible oil and pulses have caused massive resentment among the trading community as it came just ahead of the kharif sowing season, when prices were off their peaks due to multiple steps announced previously. Sources said trading activity in some of the major mandis dealing in pulses such as Sholapur, Amravati and Latur in Maharashtra, Indore and Dewas in Madhya Pradesh along with Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh was impacted as traders went on a flash strike in protest against the decision to impose stock limits.
Several places in Arunachal Pradesh, including capital Itanagar, were cut off by floods and landslides.
JD-U leaders believe Prashant Kishor's entry would benefit its case for contesting a larger number of seats in Bihar in next year's general election.
The earliest ones included whistles shaped like birds, toy monkeys that could slide down a string and small carts made from materials found in nature such as sticks, clay and rocks. While there might be no disputing India's rich toy-making tradition, the industry is languishing for lack of investment and technology, and also owing to competition from cheap imports. And though it has been listed among 24 key sectors under the government's Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan, the question remains: will this push help place it in the global game? Currently, 80-odd per cent of the toys sold in India are imported - nearly 60 per cent of them from China.
Swarms of immature pink locusts and adult yellow locusts are currrently active. Not only are fresh locusts swarms expected to arrive in the coming weeks, but even those already present in India have mated and are breeding new offspring.
It is largely due to his vision and efforts that we have almost quadrupled our per capita milk availability in the last 40 years, points out Shailesh Dobhal.
The MeT department warned of heavy to very heavy rainfall in Gangetic West Bengal till Saturday, ahead of Durga Puja festivities.
Despite Prime Minister Narendra Modi's tall claims that no one has served nature more than India, some of the steps taken by his BJP government proves that the ground reality is exactly opposite, says Devanik Saha.
Scientists at the India Meteorological Department warn that not only has India turned hotter in the last two decades, but that heat waves are projected to become more intense, have longer durations and greater frequency, thereby resulting in more deaths.
Kadvi Hawa has some very bad news for us all.
With so much bad news, everybody is hunkering down in readiness for Mr Modi's next radical Big Idea, says Kanika Datta.
Nimmi, the legendary actress, passed away at her Mumbai home on Wednesday, March 25.
'There will always be hiccups given that the Namami Gange programme is spread over different sectors and involves several agencies.'
More than legal and illegal mining of sand, the issue which stares us in the face is sustainable sand mining, says Gopal Krishna
'Tiger reserves were created to protect areas from developmental activities.' 'If we go ahead with these projects, then it is a complete mockery of our institutions and our laws, it is against everything we have stood for, our Forest Conservation Act, our Wildlife Biodiversity Act.'
'The BJP will not be able to create dictatorship of the kind it is perhaps dreaming of.' 'We have Bengal as the biggest example.'
'Maybe the BJP believes, in the post-poll scenario, it will have the might to foist, anybody endorsed by the RSS, upon Bihar,' observes Mohammad Sajjad.
Between 2001 and 2011, the number of rural habitations with population of less than 1,000 has declined sharply
As the Jan-Dhan scheme completes a month since its official launch, reports coming in from various parts of the country suggest the stated target of 75 million new accounts will be achieved much before January 26 next year.
According to the 2011 census, 67 per cent of rural households and 13 per cent of urban households defecate in the open.
The uproar over 'dams' following the Uttarakhand disaster is ill-informed & potentially counter-productive, says Anand Sankar
'Does the government help ordinary citizens like you and me with our marriages, birthdays and anniversaries?' Rashme Sehgal reports on the controversy over the the Art Of Living Foundation's plans for a cultural festival on the Yamuna floodplains.
What are the most worrisome aspects of climate change for India? Can they be solved?
Implementing the Food Ordinance is the bigger challenge and there are many provisions of the National Food Security Bill which need to be expanded and strengthened.
BJP President Amit Shah -- arguably the second most powerful politician in the nation -- granted a rare television interview to the Network 18 group of news channels. Rediff.com's Rajesh Alva checks out what the BJP boss said in this word cloud assessment of the interview.
