THE total seasonal rainfall during the year's southwest monsoon (June 1 to September 30) for the country as a whole was 99 per cent of its long-period average (LPA), which, being within plus or minus 10 per cent of the LPA, can be termed as a `normal' monsoon.

The skewed pattern of rainfall experienced across the country during this year's monsoon appears to be an anomaly.

farms in the terai region of Uttar Pradesh were enveloped by fog this August. Fog is not unusual in this part of the country but it usually starts happening in winter, mostly in late December and

as the trustee of the Community Development Carbon Fund, the World Bank has agreed to buy carbon credits from two Indian companies ostensibly to promote projects with better technologies in the

Indian agriculture is coming free of the traditional mandis, with the spread of credit to farmers, involvement of the corporate sector and futures commodity exchanges

Shielding herself from the fierce afternoon sun with a bright dupatta, Urmila lowers her bucket deep into the heart of the well. As she draws out bucket after bucket of water, Urmila talks about how the water level has never been this low. "The colour and quality of the water has deteriorated over the last few years," she says. "But we are lucky.