-Hindustan Times India’s below-average and a largely flat food production this year is sure to keep prices of pulses high, prompting the government to take a slew of steps aimed at taming prices. Yet there is widening demand-supply deficit of one of the commonest protein item on an average Indian’s plate. * What happened? Lentils, the commonest protein item in an average Indian’s meal, are low on supplies. * What does it mean? Pulses could...

-The Hindu Intellectual property accelerates innovation in certain technology sectors, but it impedes innovation in others. The biggest flaw of the new policy is that it does not acknowledge this. Intellectual property (IP) regimes suffer a classic paradox. While they attempt to encourage innovation and creativity, they have themselves been shielded from innovation experimentation. For some years now, India has been attempting to break this mould and craft a regime to suit...

-Business Standard Water harvesting needs attention, not just irrigation The charter of demands recently submitted by chief ministers of drought-hit states to the central leadership, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seeks liberal assistance for the states' drought relief efforts. These focus on managing the immediate crisis. While that is a valid concern, too few states sought aid for medium and long-term drought mitigation and adaptation measures which are vital to blunt the...

-Business Standard Environmental activist and water expert Himanshu Thakkar tells Aditi Phadnis that India needs a comprehensive water-use policy immediately. * You are quoted as saying that India is in the grip of its worst hydrological crisis ever. Isn't that a bit drastic? After all, India has endured endemic water scarcity in many parts of the country for several years now. What makes you so pessimistic? I do not think it is statement...

-The Times of India The city's child sex ratio reached an all time high in 2015, with 933 girls born per 1,000 boys, significantly ahead of the national average of 918. But several wards of the city bucked the progressive trend to register a worrying gap. As per recently released BMC data, 11of 24 wards registered a dip in the ratio, indicative of a strong bias towards the male child, compared with...