-Outlook Out in our streets, disabled people feel the pain everyday The Gaping Holes     India yet to get a cohesive, standardised sign language     Barrier-free infrastructure yet to be implemented in public areas like bus stations, railway stations, schools, cinema halls     Lack of basic, inclusive civic facilities: no audio-enabled traffic signals, pavements with ramps, few disability-friendly toilets, negligible penalties     Poor functional entertainment accessibility, like no subtitling on local language TV channels     Reservation...

-Outlook Output of major crops, both Food and non-food, is expected to decline by about 2.3 per cent in 2012-13 as sowing has remained sluggish, economic think tank CMIE has said. "Production of major crops is projected to decline in 2012-13. A fall in output of both Food and non-Food crops is expected to dip by 2.3 per cent," Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy said in its monthly report. Kharif acreage continued to...

-Outlook Over 68 per cent of milk in the country does not conform to the standards set by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), the Centre has told the Supreme Court on a plea for checking sale of synthetic and adulterated milk and various dairy products. The submission has been made by the Centre in its affidavit which referred to a survey conducted by the FSSAI, which had found...

-The Times of India Rising Food prices during 2010-11 may have pushed three million Bangladeshis into poverty, and kept eight million Indians from getting out of poverty bracket, finds a UN report released on Thursday. In Asia and Pacific region, Food inflation pushed nearly four million people into poverty. The UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific ( ESCAP) report on regional cooperation for inclusive and sustainable development says...

Rising corn prices in the United States brought about by biofuel mandates have cost developing countries 6.6 billion dollars over the past six years, says a study by Global Development And Environment Institute at Tufts University (GDAE).  Net Food Importing Developing Countries, among the most vulnerable to Food price increases, incurred ethanol-related costs of $2.1 billion, the study concludes. (See highlights and the links below). The recent spike in world Food prices...