There is some good news amid gloom! Preliminary findings of a survey in India as quoted by the Global Nutrition Report 2014 shows that prevalence of malnutrition among children aged below 5 years has come down between 2005-06 and 2013-14, even though we have a long way to go. (See links and bullet points below). The survey on malnutrition and hunger, called the Rapid Survey on Children (RSOC), was conducted after...

-The Economic Times NEW DELHI: The government could soon undertake extensive changes in its land use and acquisition policies as the PMO puts pressure on the agriculture ministry to implement the recommendations of an eight-year-old report that was prepared by a working group chaired by the then Gujarat CM Narendra Modi. The report had proposed that industries and developers could make use of productive agricultural land for industrialisation and urbanisation by ensuring...

-The Indian Express Proposing a complete overhaul of the existing environmental governance framework, a government-appointed expert committee has recommended measures that would make it easier to set up industrial or infrastructure projects, but would also ensure that those who flout pollution norms or violate green laws are penalised heavily. Among the measures suggested by the four-member committee headed by former Cabinet Secretary T S R Subramanian are: creation of new institutions...

-DNA India's rising affluence and water profligacy could trigger a food crisis very soon At first blush, there is a lot to be cheerful about. India's index of industrial production has resumed its climb. Stalled projects are being dusted and revived. There is a good chance that employment figures, too, will begin rising by the end of the next quarter. Then there is more good news. Per capital GDP (Gross Domestic Product)...

-Business Standard Environment ministry also plans to cut the two-stage mandatory clearances under the Environment Protection Act to a single stage, shaving six months from the process   The central government is working to substantially cut red tape at the environment ministry by doing away with multiple applications for all the green clearances that a project developer requires. A single comprehensive application would soon replace the existing multiple-window system. The environment ministry also plans...