-PTI NEW DELHI: The Centre has told the Supreme Court that though the country has become self sufficient in production of cereals, it is dependent on imports to bridge the gap between domestic production and demand of edible oil and pulses. Responding to a PIL on increasing farmer suicides in the country, the Ministry of Agriculture said in an affidavit, "India has not only ensured self-sufficiency in most of the agricultural crops...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: The Centre today began consulting the states on a new education policy that will review a range of practices, including the automatic promotions till Class VIII and the option of skipping one's Class X board exams under the Central Board of Secondary Education. Smriti Irani's human resource development ministry made a presentation flagging 33 key issues, which include the need for examination reforms to focus on problem-solving, critical...

-The Hindu Business Line India measures poorest in terms of stunted children at 47.9% NEW DELHI: Five middle-income countries (MICs) which displayed strong economic growth in 2014 - India, Brazil, China, Mexico and Indonesia - account for 363 million, or a half, of the world's hungry, according to a report released on Wednesday by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). The 2014-2015 Global Food Policy Report (GFPR) called on Governments of these...

-The Times of India GUMLA: US-based Ford Foundation's president Darren Walker has, with a team comprising Larissa Macfarquhar, Alfred Ironside from the US and Srinivasan and Kavita from India, visited Gumla on Wednesday to assess the change process carried out during the last few years within tribal communities through NGO Pradan's engagement methodology. The foundation, in partnership with the NGO, has started self-help groups for tribal women in the past. Walker and his...

-PTI NGOs like Greenpeace are opposing genetically engineered 'Golden Rice' without any basis, green activist Patrick Moore alleged today while pitching for its cultivation. Interestingly, Moore himself was a co-founder of Greenpeace International but later disassociated with the NGO in 1986 due to differences of opinion. He alleged that the Greenpeace is "raising money to oppose 'Golden Rice' without any basis and offering alternatives to address malnutrition". He claimed that the Golden Rice'...