-The Hindu An upbeat global trade scenario provides an ideal setting for Trade Ministers to correct iniquitous rules and provisions The World Trade Organization (WTO)’s 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12) is being convened in Geneva, Switzerland at the end of this month, a year-and-a-half after it was scheduled to be held in Kazakhstan (June 2020, but postponed due to the novel Coronavirus pandemic). The MC12 is being held at an important juncture when...
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Alarm bells in 53 European, Central Asian countries, WHO warns of new Covid wave -Meenakshi Ray
-Hindustan Times Covid-19 cases had risen in Europe for the fifth consecutive week, making it the only world region where the infections are still increasing, WHO's headquarters in Geneva said on Wednesday. As many as 53 countries in Europe and Central Asia face the “real threat” of a resurgence of the Coronavirus pandemic in the coming weeks or are already battling a new wave of infections, exacerbated by the more transmissible Delta...
More »Organic farming can lead to good yields, even in an intensively farmed area -Rajinder Chaudhary
-Down to Earth A survey in Haryana last year found that 45 per cent of 218 organic farmers got yields for wheat better than the state official average yield The relative merit of organic farming is recognised. Still, it is usually recommended only for areas of low chemical usage and not for intensively farmed areas such as those where the Green Revolution took place in the 1960s like Punjab, Haryana and western...
More »Getting nutrition back on the school high table -SubbaRao M Gavaravarapu and Hemalatha R
-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...
More »Drying up of MGNREGA allocation will shrink the rural economy further -Dibyendu Chaudhuri and Parijat Ghosh
-Down to Earth The focus of MGNREGA has, over time, shifted from employment creation to asset creation The funds allocated in the Union budget 2021-22 for implementing schemes under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) were exhausted within the first half of this financial year. The budgetary provision for 2021-22 was Rs 73,000 crore, of which Rs 79,810 crore has been spent. Many workers didn’t get paid; it may take...
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