If the problems are macro, think micro. That seems to have been the guiding principle for Lekha-Mendha, the Maharashtra village that last month became the first in India to win the right to grow, harvest and sell bamboo. Such rights are the key goal of a five-year-old central law which aims to give tribal communities control over some resources of the jungles they live in. “There is no point in looking out...

The country is about to witness dramatic changes in food norms, impacting the industry significantly, if initiatives being taken by the Food Safety & Standards Authority (FSSAI) are a yardstick. Formulation of food recall procedures in case of unsafe or hazardous products , mandatory compliance with GAP (good agricultural practices) for big retailers, labelling changes for packaged food items, organic food certification, setting water quality standards and verification of claims by...

Recently released data on infant deaths across states in India has thrown up surprising results, leaving health experts puzzled. Average infant mortality rate for the country as a whole stood at 50 in 2009, down by 30% compared to a decade ago. The rate is much higher than developed countries but the pace at which it is declining is encouraging. But the surprises lurk in state level data. Three states -...

Napkins will be sold at subsidised price of Rs. 6 per pack Ensuring better menstrual health and hygiene Safe disposal of napkins at community level The Centre's ambitious and much-awaited scheme of making available subsidised sanitary napkins to adolescent girls in the age group of 10-19 years in rural India will be operational by August. As part of promotion of menstrual hygiene, the napkins will be sold to girls at a cost of Rs.6...

-The Telegraph   Smoke from cigarettes, diesel and burning trees contains a chemical similar to the gas that had leaked from a pesticide factory in Bhopal in 1984 and has been implicated in heart disease, cataract, and rheumatoid arthritis, US scientists said today. The researchers who developed an instrument to measure gaseous acids in the atmosphere have found traces of the chemical called isocyanic acid that is produced during the burning...