-The Telegraph Corruption and traditional attitudes are major reasons why 196 million Indians are chronically undernourished One is what one eats. A study by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization confirms that poor-quality diet poses a greater threat to public health across the world than malaria, tuberculosis or measles and that diet-related factors account for six of the top nine ailments on the global burden of disease. This is worrying for...

-The Hindu Hundreds of species of pollinators may be in dangerous decline Across India’s agrarian plains, plantations and orchards, millions of birds, bats and insects toil to pollinate crops. However, many of these thousands of species may be in dangerous decline. In 2015, the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) found that pollinators lead to huge agricultural economic gains. The report estimated pollinator contribution in India to be $0.831-1.5 billion...

-The Telegraph Higher GDP growth rate has often been accompanied by slowing job growth, an Azim Premji University report says New Delhi: Job creation has not only failed to keep pace with the country’s GDP growth over the decades, a higher GDP growth rate has often been accompanied by a slowing job growth, a recent report says. The State of Working India 2018, a report by the Azim Premji University, would come as...

-The Indian Express The IUCDs assume significance as birth spacing through family planning is considered an important intervention for maternal and neonatal health. Dindori: In early January, a 30-year-old woman gave birth to her second child. But Dampening her joy was the realisation that a copper-based intrauterine contraceptive device (IUCD) had been inserted in her body without her consent. The woman’s account is echoed by many others who allege that the IUCD, commonly...

-The Indian Express Forcing machinery on farmers without giving a thought to the economics of their utilisation can prove counter-productive. There are three main impediments to farm mechanisation in India. The first is cost, which, for a standard 50-horsepower tractor, today averages around Rs 6.5-6.8 lakh. But a tractor is just a source of power and traction, and only as good as the farm implements it can pull. The most basic tractor-drawn tiller/cultivator...