-Livemint.com FSSAI says it has set up a scientific panel on ‘food fortification and nutrition’ to help fight malnutrition in the country New Delhi: The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) on Tuesday said it has set up a scientific panel on “food fortification and nutrition” to help fight malnutrition in the country. On 2 February, the regulator notified a draft plan to make supply of fortified food mandatory for government-supported...

-The Times of India HARIDWAR: A fine of Rs 11 lakh has been imposed on Yoga guru Ramdev's company, Patanjali Ayurved Ltd, by a city court on charges of misbranding and misrepresentation of its products. In its order, the court of Lalit Narain Mishra, Haridwar's additional district magistrate, found the company, which is currently eyeing at doubling its revenues from the current Rs 5,000 crore to almost Rs 10,000 crore by the...

-The Hindu Major challenges in health data data collection discussed Data collection system in India needs to be completely revamped as different sources lead to different conclusions, Dr. Bibek Debroy, a member of the NITI Aayog, said at a conference held last week. During the “Better data for better health” conference, organised by the observer research foundation (ORF), Dr. Debroy said the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO), the largest organisation in India conducting...

Situation alarming: More than one-third population hit by drought   The country is facing severe drought for the second consecutive year. Conservative estimates from official sources show that over a quarter of rural habitations are facing drinking water scarcity. Although both India Meteorological Department and Skymet have predicted a more than normal rainfall during June-September, 2016, the water storage available in 91 major reservoirs of the country has declined from 22 percent...

-DNA Widespread damage and loss of the Kharif crop in 2015 due to drought served to highlight the insecurity of the Indian farmers in the face of various challenges beyond their control: drought, hailstorms, unseasonal rains, cyclones, wild animals, epidemics and seed or technological failures, among others. Farm rights movements across the country have rubbished the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojna (PMFBY) calling it “a dressed up version of existing crop insurance...