-PTI/ The New Indian Express These special traits crop varieties also include those that address the anti-nutritional factors found in some crops that adversely affect human and animal health. NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday launched 35 crop varieties with special traits -- developed by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) -- to address the twin challenges of climate change and malnutrition. The new crop varieties were dedicated to the...

-Hindustan Times A gradual shift towards cash crops at the expense of food crops and deficit rainfall over the years are the primary reasons behind the agrarian crisis in Maharashtra’s drought-hit Marathwada region, according to a study conducted by the Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay (IIT-B). Published in the Environmental Research Letters in May, the study analyses the role of rainfall deficits and cropping choices in loss of agricultural yield in Marathwada. The...

-Society for Social and Economic Research Monograph 20/3 Key Messages Lack of planning and preparation by the Central government for tackling the COVID-19 pandemic has dealt a massive blow to India’s economy and has caused enormous hardships to working people of the country. Harvesting of Rabi crops • Unplanned and sudden imposition of the lockdown resulted in a massive and unprecedented disruption to agricultural activities such as harvesting, sale of agricultural produce, and purchase...

-India Spend Dungarpur: Hunger and malnutrition are likely to become more acute among young children and pregnant and lactating women in Rajasthan’s tribal belt as community health workers, who deliver public nutrition schemes, struggle with the food shortages caused by the ongoing lockdown, our field report shows. The delivery of food and ration kits for vulnerable social groups has also been impacted by the extra load of COVID-19 duties assigned to the...

-Networkideas.org Pulses are highly nutritious and their consumption is associated with many health benefits. They are rich in proteins and minerals, high in fibre and have a low fat content. Pulses are produced by plants of the Leguminosae family. These plants have root nodules that absorb inert nitrogen from soil air and convert it into biologically useful ammonia, a process referred to as biological nitrogen fixation. Consequently, the pulse crops do...