-Hindustan Times It is the unfolding crisis in Pakistan and Sri Lanka which is forcing countries like Maldives, Nepal and Bangladesh to think again on Chinese infrastructure loans and being part of the BRI initiative. During his trip to India last week, Nepal Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba informally shared a conversation about Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi’s visit to Kathmandu in late March. The Nepalese PM, who has an equally political...

-Livemint.com Top packaged consumer goods companies had also flagged slowing rural demand in the December quarter, citing inflationary pressures NEW DELHI: Top honchos of large fast moving consumer goods companies have flagged slowdown in rural demand in the March quarter, citing high inflation across products and commodities. Analysts Manoj Menon, Aniket Sethi, and Karan Bhuwania at brokerage ICICI Securities interviewed chief executive officers of companies such as Marico Ltd., Dabur India, and Tata...

-TheCitizen.in Improved antenatal care in Meghalaya A recent report submitted on March 20 to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) from the state of Meghalaya showed that 877 newborns, and 61 pregnant women died during the pandemic. The pregnant women decided against hospital delivery out of fear of contracting Covid. A decade ago, infant mortality in Meghalaya was the same as the all-India average, at 47 deaths per 1000 births. While it has...

-The Hindu The existing approach of dealing with surface water and groundwater independently has severe limitations The theme of this year’s World Water Day (March 22) was ‘Groundwater: Making the Invisible Visible’. The primary focus is to draw attention to the role of groundwater in water and sanitation systems, agriculture, industry, ecosystems, and climate change adaptation. Groundwater helps reduce the risk of temporary water shortage and caters to the needs of arid...

-The Telegraph Merchants fear the new decision may result in corruption Dhandbad: Food grain traders across the state are up in arms against the new Jharkhand State Agricultural Produce and Livestock Marketing Act 2022 implemented by government as per which a 2% Bazar fee is to be imposed on all transactions held in 'Agriculture Produce Market Committee' operated markets across the state. The protesting food grain traders have termed the decision of the...