-Live Mint Debates on malnutrition ignore links with sanitation and disease and the burdens these impose on children Children in India are among the shortest in the world. Widespread child stunting is a human development tragedy. This is not because there is anything wrong with being short or anything inherently good about being tall. The tragedy is because of what makes children short: we all have different genetic potential heights, but...

-The Business Standard Clause empowers both Central and state govts from their obligation to provide subsidised food in the event of war, flood, drought, fire, cyclone or earthquake The government included much-debated 'force majeure' clause in the Food Security Ordinance, despite opposition from civil socieity and a Parliamentary standing committee. However, the clause can now only be invoked if the Central government in consultation with the Planning Commission decides as to whether such...

-PTI Till September 2011, only eight States have prepared EAP for 192 large dams Even as the Uttarakhand floods bring to the fore the debate over strength of dams, there are over 4,500 such structures in the country which are operating without an "Emergency action plan" (EAP) rendering huge area and property vulnerable to cascading effects of dam failure. The Central Water Commission (CWC), which works under the Water Resources Ministry, had issued...

-PTI The Finance Ministry has sought financial assistance from World Bank and Asian Development Bank (ADB) for rebuilding of damaged infrastructure in flood- ravaged Uttarakhand. "In view of the Emergency situation, both ADB and the World Bank have been requested to fast track the processes of needs assessment, project preparation and approval," the Finance Ministry said in a statement. It said a joint mission of the World Bank and ADB, led...

-The Indian Express In March, a task force on disaster management set up by the government in 2011 submitted its report, suggesting sweeping changes to the Disaster Management Act, 2005. But it did not get much attention. It took the devastation of Uttarakhand for the home ministry to take a serious look at the report. The task force, led by former NDMA secretary P K Mishra, suggested that the NDMA, which...