-Livemint.com Top packaged consumer goods companies had also flagged slowing rural demand in the December quarter, citing inflationary pressures NEW DELHI: Top honchos of large fast moving consumer goods companies have flagged slowdown in rural demand in the March quarter, citing high inflation across products and commodities. Analysts Manoj Menon, Aniket Sethi, and Karan Bhuwania at brokerage ICICI SECurities interviewed chief executive officers of companies such as Marico Ltd., Dabur India, and Tata...

-The Hindu The existing approach of dealing with surface water and groundwater independently has severe limitations The theme of this year’s World Water Day (March 22) was ‘Groundwater: Making the Invisible Visible’. The primary focus is to draw attention to the role of groundwater in water and sanitation systems, agriculture, industry, ecosystems, and climate change adaptation. Groundwater helps reduce the risk of temporary water shortage and caters to the needs of arid...

-The Wire Science * Northwest India is setting new records for heat. Places in this belt including Delhi witnessed the hottest March since 1901, with an average maximum temperature of 30.73º C. * On April 2, maximum temperatures ranged between 41-42º C over India’s northwest including Rajasthan; it was 4-6º C above normal in Delhi. * As per the India Meteorological Department, heat waves will continue over areas including south Haryana, Delhi and...

-The Telegraph It was biting commentary and the political bosses flinched at it, possibly hated it, but they endured it all right. What does the vanishing art of cartooning tell us about ourselves? Recently, the Museum of Cartoon Art was inaugurated at Savitribai Phule Pune University and an art gallery, also in Pune, by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in memory of the legendary cartoonist R.K. Laxman. A little ironic given that political...

-Economic and Political Weekly The food systems approach proposes reducing food loss and waste as a potential solution to achieve food and nutritional SECurity. This is formalised in the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations. Despite the issue receiving such ubiquitous recognition, systematic efforts to measure and address FLW are absent in India. Our calculations show that one-sixth of agricultural production, accounting for one-tenth of the gross value added in...