-The United Nations The world will need 70 per cent more food, as measured by calories, to feed a global population of 9.6 billion in 2050, and must achieve this through improvements in the way people produce and consume, according to a report released today by the United Nations and its partners. "Over the next several decades, the world faces a grand challenge - and opportunity - at the intersection of food...

-The Hindu     States that increase minimum wage will have to bear extra cost from their own resources A committee set up by the Ministry of Rural Development to revise wages under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) has offered suggestions that are likely to iron out long-standing issues relating to disparity in earnings under the scheme. Currently, MGNREGA wages are lower than the minimum wages in several States, including in...

-The Hindu Compensation or reparation for damages associated with any country's contribution to historical emissions amounts to a ‘duty to make amends' and is not an act of charity India joined nearly 140 countries in staging a walkout during the recent climate negotiations in Warsaw to oppose the attempt to avoid creating a strong institutional mechanism to address "loss and damage." In the final moments of the conference, however, some form of...

-The Indian Express Government must step up private sector involvement in agricultural research. Why Bharat Ratna awardee C.N.R. Rao called the acts of politicians "idiotic" is for him to elaborate. Perhaps he was referring to those advocating a ban on GM research in India. After all, Rao has vehemently urged a five-fold increase in funding for research and development in agriculture. That includes research on GM crops. On the food front, we have...

-The Hindu The Bali ministerial conference in December presents a crucial opportunity to bring about changes in WTO rules Ending hunger and poverty requires major national policy initiatives in developing countries. The United Nations Secretary-General has articulated a broad zero hunger vision, endorsed and embraced as a priority by national leaders in many developing countries in Latin America, Africa and Asia. Production of food by small cultivators in developing countries has a...