A report by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), which was released on July 6th (observed as World Zoonoses Day by research institutions and non-governmental organisations across the globe) this year, says that around 60 percent of known infectious diseases in humans are estimated to have an animal origin. Likewise, almost three-fourth of all new and emerging infectious diseases are zoonotic i.e. these diseases...

-The Hindu Business Line The govt’s POSHAN Abhiyaan is a step in the right direction. But for it to succeed an empowered community must form its backbone and the measures adopted should be inclusive, across the urban-rural and literacy fault-lines POSHAN (nutrition) has become the buzzword within the development community in the last couple of years. The launch of Prime Minister’s Overarching Scheme for Nutrition (POSHAN) Abhiyaan has given nutrition the much-required...

Multidimensional poverty is about non-monetary poverty and is strongly associated with the challenges of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Although previously defined only in monetary terms, poverty is now understood to include the lived reality of people’s experiences and the multiple deprivations they face. India’s multidimensional headcount ratio (H) i.e. the proportion or incidence of people (within a given population) who experience multiple deprivations has reduced from 55.1 percent to...

-The Hindu New research at University of Cambridge focuses on rural knowledge systems and sustainable practices to safeguard the ecosystem An academic with research interests in food production, rural development and gender equality in development interventions, Shailaja Fennell has worked on several international projects to promote sustainability and build resilience. She supervises M.Phil students at the Centre of Development Studies – University of Cambridge, and Ph.D students at the Centre of Development...

-Down to Earth Complex groundwater systems cannot be controlled or predicted, but need to be better managed and made more efficient The Central Ground Water Authority’s (GGWA) latest guideline — banning the grant of no-objection certificates (NoC) for extracting groundwater to all new industries coming up in ‘over-exploited’ areas — is yet another duplication of previous failed policy regulations. By implication, the new regulatory policy is not pretentious about looking at the problem...