-Economic and Political Weekly   Children in West Bengal and Bangladesh are presumed to share the same distribution of genetic height potential. In West Bengal they are richer, on average, and are therefore slightly taller. However, when wealth is held constant, children in Bangladesh are taller. This gap can be fully accounted for by differences in open defecation, and especially by open defecation in combination with differences in women's status and maternal...

-Outlook Following are the highlights of interim budget 2014-15: Income tax rates kept unchanged 10 pc surcharge on 'super-rich' having annual income above Rs 1 crore to continue 10 pc surcharge on domestic corporates with income of Rs 10 crore Foodgrain production estimated at 263 million tonnes in 2013-14 Fiscal deficit at 4.6 pc in 2013-14...

-The Telegraph Calcutta: The amount of work Bengal has provided under the central 100-day-a-year scheme in 2013-14 is much less than the national average, latest data have shown, swivelling the spotlight on a trend continuing since the Left rule. Although providing work under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) is a focus area of the Mamata Banerjee government, Union rural development ministry data show that Bengal has given...

-Tehelka In their struggle for forest rights, the Baigas of Madhya Pradesh have adopted a form of protest dating back to the 1930s, says Shirish Khare An idol placed under a Banyan tree passes for a temple in Masna village in Mandla district of Madhya Pradesh. Surrounded by dense forests, the village is inhabited by the "primitive" Baiga tribe. "The government has taken over our land and enclosed it with barbed...

-The Hindustan Times A "progressive Punjab agriculture summit", scheduled in SAS Nagar from February 16 to 19 is a welcome step. The event comes close on the heels of an earlier summit on industry. Together, agriculture and industry form a strong fulcrum for Punjab's economic growth and prosperity. However, at present, both are in a grip of crisis; and perhaps unable to face the future challenges/opportunities on their own. It calls for...