-Tehelka The country has egg on its face but not in its diet, as the Global Hunger Index reveals acute malnutrition Swachh Bharat Mission, if implemented in a holistic fashion, holds the key to curbing not only the problem of diarrhoeal deaths for which India holds the world record, but also malnutrition. However, the World Toilet Summit, which was held in the national capital this year as part of the Mission, was...

-Economic and Political Weekly A categorical distinction is facing rough weather--that between urban and rural. If we take just agriculture, there is so much of the outside world that comes in not just as external markets but as external inputs. Further, many of our villages barely qualify as rural if we were to take occupation alone. So the earlier line that separated the farmer from the worker in towns is slowly...

-Business Standard Odisha govt readying contingency Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has asked all district collectors to submit contingency plan proposals for agriculture sector after an India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecast said there will be less than normal monsoon rains this year. "All district collectors have been asked to submit contingency proposals for their areas to the agriculture department keeping in view their geography and resources after consulting the respective zonal DDAs (deputy...

-The Financial Express The NITI Aayog must firm up a concrete plan involving the states to deal with monsoon deficiency to avoid all-round confusion. This is an old and oft-repeated story in the media, but worth mentioning here for the readers who have missed it. It goes like this. During the period of erstwhile Planning Commission, one of the officials in-charge of projecting agricultural growth found out an innovative way to do...

-PTI NEW DELHI: To check rising price of pulses, the government on Wednesday said it will import lentils in large quantities to boost supply and also asked states to take action against hoarders. In a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Cabinet expressed concern over rising prices and decided to increase imports, among other measures. Pulses prices have risen by up to 64% in the last one year as the domestic...