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News reporting was an essential part of the administration of the Mughal Empire. Many sources such as biography, autobiography, court chronicles, akhbarat and travelogues indicate that the Mughals had an organised system of intelligence and espionage. The Mughals ruled over a vast territory which made it necessary to organize a system whereby news and information could be conveyed rapidly over great distances. News writing in Mughal India was closely connected with espionage and postal communication. For this reason, Historians who have studied the communication system of Mughal India, discussed the information system in a limited manner and paid greater coverage to the communication system. With the help of the news reports, the Mughal emperor issued orders and many other communications related to administration. The information system was important also for the economy. Till now, not much is known about the Mughal information system, notably the news reporting system related to the state. The present article deals with the information system of the Mughal empire particularly from the reign of Emperor Akbar to Aurangzeb. In this article, effort is made to discuss the types, levels, importance, structure, procedure and mechanism of the news reporting system during Mughal empire along with the rank, qualifications and work ethics of the news reporters. This article also analyses the nature and the role of the information system of the Mughal state along with how this information system evolved over a period of time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Shorea robusta Gaertn.f. forests of Nepal represent a highly valuable resource for both local communities and regional industry. Timber productivity of plantations in the Terai is well known; alternative management scenarios for Terai sal forests should be considered in terms of biodiversity conservation and potential impacts on community livelihood. This study investigated the regeneration of sal forest recovering from two forest management strategies in the Terai of Nepal: clearcutting and abandonment (successional), and clearcutting followed by the establishment and protected regeneration in Eucalyptus camaldulensis plantations (taungya). We report three principal findings. First, even though total tree abundances in all treatments were high, all species except S. robusta exhibited decreased abundances in managed forest after 20 years of protected regeneration. This effect was particularly evident in regenerating plantations. Second, successional sal forest recovered most of the species richness in 20 years, even though most tree species were in lower abundances. Third, the contribution of abandoned plantations to rural livelihoods would be linked with the plantation species only, whereas successional sal forest would provide a wider array of livelihood resources. In general, these results corroborate the existing literature on Shorea forest management and regeneration in the Terai indicating a severe decline in botanical diversity in taungya forest, and robust regeneration of Shorea populations during natural forest management in Nepal. Although sal forests may provide a wider variety of livelihood products, a full analysis of forest ‘value’ must be undertaken to establish the optimal land use systems in the Terai. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]