The use of Bt cotton seeds has had a positive impact on the overall socio-economical development of the farmers in the country, including in Andhra Pradesh, over the last decade, says a study.

Cotton production in Andhra Pradesh has increased 79.45 per cent per hectare with hybrid Bt cotton seeds, while the area under cultivation and cotton productivity have increased 9.45 per cent and 2.32 per cent respectively, leading to a 575 per cent increase in net returns for the farmers.

The MoU between Andhra Pradesh Mineral Development Corporation and Rakshana Steels, which the state has decided to cancel, had an inbuilt clause that automatically made the agreement null and void in the absence of any mining rights to the state agency. As per rules, mines in tribal zones are declared as “reserve areas” and the Centre has to accord permission before mining can be taken up in those areas.

Farmers, whose tracts have been acquired by the government for the Emaar, Financial District and other projects, seem to have a remote possibility of getting them back.

The Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board is vexed over the rampant burning of household trash in personal backyards in complete violation of instructions from the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation.

Pollution control experts say that when household garbage is burnt, Dioxins, a known carcinogen, associated also with birth defects, are released into the air we inhale. Dioxins are impossible to be removed from the food chain since these are Persistent Bioaccumulative Toxins (PBTs) which enter plants through air and water, then cattle and poultry, and finally, humans.

The urban growth in mandals in the State has declined by 3.5 per cent during 2001-11 compared with the previous decade, according Census data.

One striking feature of demographic changes in the state reflected in Census 2011 data is the sharp rise in the number of “census towns” from 93 in 2001 to 228 in 2011, indicating that people from

Andhra Pradesh government late on Wednesday decided to reduce Value Added Tax (VAT) by 2 per cent on petrol, bringing its price down by Rs1.19 per litre, a move which has been approved by the Elect

The opinion on the success of second generation of genetically modified BT cotton variety, Bollgard 2, in the state is chiefly polarised.

With the water levels in reservoirs depleting fast, complaints over an acute scarcity of water are pouring in from almost all parts of Hyderabad city. Citizens say a large number of areas in the city are short of water now.

The Water Board has started pumping water from the Osmansagar reservoir. The situation will get worse if there is no rain, as reservoirs have to get the inflows by June 15.

The Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, Mr N. Kiran Kumar Reddy, has approved Hyderabad Water Board's proposal for a HUDCO loan of Rs 1,670 crore to execute the Krishna Phase III project.