-The Hindu Business Line An Odisha organisation is working hard to preserve traditional foods and prevent the mainstream from swallowing up local knowledge systems Inside a candy pink-and-yellow shamiana, a group of children in blue uniforms line up in front of stalls heaving with different kinds of foods. Tubers in shades of brown, beige and cream; pink and red berries; tiny yellow, orange and red tomatoes; leaves of many sizes and shapes;...

-IANS Hydropower projects, on Himalayan water resources, can face hazards of glacial lake outbursts that can damage its infrastructure Of the 177 hydropower projects (HPP) located close to Himalayan glaciers over a fifth - including many in India - could be under threat from floods caused by the outbursts of glacial lakes, European researchers have warned. The researchers, from various universities, have charted out a new method for locating the minimum exposure that...

-Down to Earth A global report focuses on sustainable agricultural growth, increased wages and creation of off-farm jobs to bring about rapid rural development. The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) report says economic growth alone is not enough to eliminate rural poverty, particularly in the Asia and Pacific region. “The rapid economic growth in the region has come at a cost. Urbanisation has led to a wide income gap between rural and...

-Down to Earth Punjab produces about 19-20 million tonnes of paddy straw and about 85-90 per cent of this paddy straw is burnt in the field Burning of agricultural biomass residue, or Crop Residue Burning (CRB) has been identified as a major health hazard. In addition to causing exposure to extremely high levels of Particulate Matter concentration to people in the immediate vicinity, it is also a major regional source of...

-Down to Earth Around 15 per cent of India’s population is undernourished and 38.7 per cent of children suffer from stunted growth Reductions in the prevalence of undernourishment, child stunting, child mortality and child wasting (low weight for height) have led to the improvement in Global Hunger Index (GHI), but looking at the pace at which the progress is being made, the sustainable development goals (SDGs) of 2030 is unlikely to...