-Down to Earth Low returns and high risks from alternative crops among reasons past efforts failed, says report The Commission for Agricultural Cost and Prices (CACP) has recommended promotion of crop diversification, favouring oilseed crops amid the global inflation in oilseeds and vegetable oils prices. Global inflation creates a structural risk as vegetable oils account for about half of India’s agricultural import, subsequently raising the country’s agri-import bill, the commission wrote in its...

-The Telegraph  It is still not clear why the rules are suddenly taken down New Delhi: The Narendra Modi government has again fumbled with a hot potato in another attempt to regulate social media content. On Wednesday, the ministry of electronics & information technology (MeitY) published draft rules that proposed the formation of an appeals panel that could veto content takedown on social media platforms — which would possibly make India the first...

-IndiaToday.in The recent National Family Health Survey that was conducted between 2019 and 2021 busts many myths and also confirms some ugly realities of India. Numbers and data should be the two deities that any self-respecting media professional should respect and revere. Unfortunately, in the din and noise of acrimonious debates that revolve around matters of faith, a treasure trove of fascinating data that showcases an India that is both changing and...

-The Hindu Challenges abound in this approach, which needs to be analysed in depth before a policy is announced The University Grants Commission (UGC) has recently announced that it will do away with the mandatory PhD qualification to teach in Central Universities (CUs) spread across the country. It purportedly addresses a shortage of qualified faculty in CUs. According to the Ministry of Education data, there were 10,000 teaching positions lying vacant in...

-Press release by World Meteorological Organization (WMO) dated 18 May 2022 Geneva, 18 May 2022 (WMO): Four key climate change indicators – greenhouse gas concentrations, sea level rise, ocean heat and ocean acidification – set new records in 2021. This is yet another clear sign that human activities are causing planetary scale changes on land, in the ocean, and in the atmosphere, with harmful and long-lasting ramifications for sustainable development and...