-The Times of India MEERUT: According to human rights advocacy group Amnesty International, in the first six months of 2018, 100 hate crimes have been committed against people from marginalised groups including dalits, Adivasis, members of racial or religious minority groups and transgender people across the country. Uttar Pradesh, with 18 such crimes, had the highest number among Indian states, followed by Gujarat with 13 cases, Rajasthan (eight) and Tamil Nadu...

-Down to Earth So far, rainfall in the Indo-Gangetic plain has remained deficient, with last week recording largely deficient rain Monsoon is yet to smile upon the states in the Indo-Gangetic plain, almost 45 days after it reached the country. States such as Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana recorded deficient rain (20-59 per cent below normal) from June 1 to July 11. Last week, between July 5-11, Haryana,...

-The Indian Express Many BJP-ruled states deny children a food choice that could address malnutrition Two of every five Indian children are stunted. Eggs are nutrition-dense superfoods packed with proteins and essential vitamins. Washington University researchers, for example, have demonstrated with a randomized control trial that feeding infants eggs daily decreased stunted growth by almost half and underweight by three-quarters. Berkeley researchers have also validated that healthy school meals even improve test...

-Newsclick.in Govt. buys only about one third of the total rice and wheat produced and MSP is paid for that only. The recent announcement of Minimum Support Prices for 14 kharif crops including paddy and many coarse grains has been met with a frenzy of self-congratulation by the Modi govt. and the BJP, egged on by an embarrassingly sycophantic mainstream media. Many have however pointed out that the declared MSP is...

-Livemint.com Agriculture is not only crucial for what happens to growth, inflation and rural distress, it is also politically important given the simmering discontent among farmers in the last two years Last week, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) declared that the south-west monsoon has covered the entire country, 15 days earlier than normal. This may be a cause for celebration considering the distress in agriculture in the last four years. Agriculture is...