-The Hindu Younger daughters-in-law in rural families have shorter children on average, says research There is new evidence that the unequal social status of women could play a significant - and as yet ignored - role in explaining India's "inexplicably" high under-nutrition levels. For its per capita income, India has stubbornly higher than expected levels of stunting and under-weight among children and adults - the so-called "Asian enigma" which, with countries like...

-The Economic Times PUNE: Over 300 farmers from Mulashi near Pune, organised under the Abhinav Farmers' club, plan four months in advance who will grow what. More than 1,300 women, organised in 117 groups, do attractive packaging of organic vegetables, earning Rs 150 a day (for just 4-5 hours' work). The fresh vegetables, fruits and grains will be delivered at door step as per the orders booked through e-mails, voice SMS and over...

-One World South Asia The mid-day meal tragedy in Bihar has drawn attention directly to the way we articulate and work for educational entitlements, writes Parvinder Singh and Priyanka Sarkar. Lucknow: It takes an informed and empowered community to harvest the fruits of educational entitlements, including non-discriminatory access to midday meals. The promises made in the Right to Education Act can only be wrested as rights when they are owned by the...

-The Hindu While many young Indians are showing an interest in marrying across caste, indications are that not many actually go ahead and cross caste boundaries. Recent research by Amit Ahuja, assistant professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of California - Santa Barbara, and Susan L. Ostermann, a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Political Science at the University of California - Berkeley, showed that more than half...

-CivilSocietyOnline.com Kozhikode: Dubai's agriculture minister recently chartered a flight to Kozhikode and, accompanied by a horticulture consultant, headed to the Agriculture Research Station (ARS) at Anakkayam nearby. There the minister, Abdulla Jassim Abdulla M Almarzooqi, placed orders for fruits, spices and ornamental plants. But on his mind was something bigger. He offered free visas and air tickets to the 100 members of the research station's agricultural army, which rather grandly goes...