Policies and programmes on climate change have failed to address the problems of the vulnerable communities at the grassroots level in the country, a new study said.

Over 10,000 villages and 15 of Maharashtra's 35 districts face a drought-like situation.

It will be a while before Karnataka can expect any grant from the Centre for drought relief.

The Central drought assessment team headed by Parvesh Sharma on Wednesday directed the State government to furnish detailed statistics within a week’s time. The officials, at a meeting presided over by Chief Minister D V Sadananda Gowda, expressed dissatisfaction over the information provided by the Gowda-led all-party delegation in its memorandum.

The Central team touring the State to assess the drought situation has concluded that the drought in Chitradurga district is severe.

A member of the team, D Rajashekar, Deputy Advisor, Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, New Delhi, told mediapersons in Chitradurga on Tuesday that the water table had depleted and borewells have dried up. The team will recommend to the Centre in its report to roll out development schemes to alleviate the sufferings of the drought-affected, he said. He commended the officials for the drought-relief works taken up in the district.

GANDHINAGAR: A high-level committee of Government of India's (GoI's) finance ministry has cleared a proposal that would enable the Gujarat government to receive nearly 90 per cent of all funds over

Minister for water resources Pawan Kumar Bansal is reported to have been horrified to have learnt of the macabre incident in which a mother, Qadeeran, and her youngest son, Rasheed, were killed by

The Centre is expected to release a first instalment of about `700 crores assistance for drought relief works in Maharashtra in the next few days.

Union ministers Mr Pranab Mukherjee, Mr Sharad Pawar, Mr Pawan Kumar Bansal and the deputy chairman planning commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia are expected to meet on this issue either on Monday or Tuesday, sources said.

The UN warns that a million children in Africa's Sahel region face malnutrition due to drought in region.

The Rajya Sabha discussed the severe drought situation in Karnataka and in States such as Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh.