-PTI After a making a slow progress, the southwest monsoon is expected to gain momentum and advance further into several parts of drought-hit Maharashtra and central India. “The southwest monsoon has further advanced into remaining parts of coastal Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Gangetic West Bengal, more parts of north interior Karnataka, Vidarbha, Chhattisgarh, Telangana, Jharkhand and Bihar,” the India Meteorological Department said. Secretary in the Ministry of Earth Sciences, M Rajeevan, said the last...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: India has done well in curbing stunting over the last decade, but the growing number of overweight people, particularly those prone to diabetes, may be a cause of concern, the Global Nutrition Report, 2016, says. Though still home to one-third of the world's 159 million stunted children aged below five years, India has Witnessed a sharp decline in the prevalence of stunting, from 48% in 2006...

-The Indian Express The fight against malnutrition depends on more than economic growth. The data from the National Family Health Survey or NFHS-4 (although only for 13 states and 2 UTs) confirms the finding from the Rapid Survey on Children (RSoC) of 2015 that there has been a significant decline in child malnutrition in the country during the last decade. In spite of a number of initiatives having been launched to combat...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The road transport and highways ministry will install speed guns (equipment to record the speed of as well as film a moving vehicle) on national highways and deploy advanced ambulances with vehicle-cutting equipment on certain stretches for the immediate rescue of accident victims. Announcing the government's plans to crack down on speeding on highways, Union road transport minister Nitin Gadkari on Thursday said errant drivers will...

-The Hindu In a sign of change, mothers wage a relentless battle to get their children admission to the seats reserved for the poor in private schools. New Delhi: In her tiny room with a grey refrigerator and a wall-mounted television set, Babita opens up about her dreams. “My children should learn to speak in English,” she says. Two of her children study in private schools, and another in a government school. Private...