-Hindustan Times Additional railway rakes, or train wagons, were being made available to ship fertilisers on a priority basis and at short notice, an official said. The Union government has formed a “crack team” to ensure priority movement of fertilisers to key Food-bowl states as fears of shortage have triggered panic buying of crop nutrients, people familiar with the matter said. For the first time, a hub-and-spoke model is being implemented to take...

-The Tribune Grains sold at fair price shops unfit for eating: Consumers Palampur: In the absence of any checks, ‘substandard’ Foodgrain, especially pulses, are being sold at fair price shops in Kangra district. The pulses have high moisture content and are not fit for human consumption. The state government supplies subsidised Foodgrain to consumers through over 4,500 outlets, including fair price shops. Sources say that the commodities being supplied at the fair price...

-The Hindu COVID-19 or otherwise, educational institutions need to ensure that schoolchildren are nurtured and nourished With COVID-19 cases reducing in the country, several establishments, including schools, are opening again. While the reopening of all schools is on the anvil, the festive season ahead and the fact that children are not yet in the ambit of the vaccination drive are causing apprehension. We, as a society, must focus on the nutrition of...

-The Hindu Keen to be parallel repository of data, along with States The Centre has proposed amendments to a 1969 law that will enable it to “maintain the database of registered birth and deaths at the national level”. The database may be used to update the Population Register and the electoral register, and Aadhaar, ration card, passport and driving licence databases, says the proposed amendment to the Registration of Births and Deaths Act...

-TheWire.in If the Union government thinks that the Global Hunger Index’s methodology is ‘unscientific’, here is another Index that shows a troubling picture for the state of ‘Access Inequality in Basic Amenities’ across India. In the Global Hunger Index (GHI) released last week, India’s ranking slipped seven places to a rank of 101 from 94, in over just a year. The index gives a score on a 100 point scale, where zero...