-TheWire.in Contrary to expectations, the report shows that 40,000 more undertrials were held in prisons in 2020 than in 2019. Congestion in prisons in India came into renewed focus after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Courts took urgent measures to prevent the spread of the contagious virus in prisons, asking state governments to set up high powered committees to release incarcerated persons on bail or parole. As a consequence, it is...

-Centre for Science and Environment * Releases new report that presents irrefutable evidence of the benefits of non-chemical agriculture * Yesterday’s Budget promises to promote chemical-free natural farming, but it is a half-hearted promise at best, as no separate allocation has been made in it, says CSE * CSE’s asks: Invest in organic and natural farming. Make it a mass movement New Delhi, February 2, 2022: “Despite the push given to it through periodic...

-Down to Earth Experts express concern, point at state pollution control board for poor implementation The National Green Tribunal (NGT) January 18, 2021 ordered 15 chemical industrial units in Haryana to remain shut for flouting green norms. The companies were manufacturing formaldehyde without environmental clearance (EC) and requisite safeguards. Out of the 15 industrial units, 10 are located in Yamuna Nagar district, two in Jhajjar, two in Karnal and one in Ambala. These water-guzzling...

In the previous news alert, we looked at the under-nutrition problem in the Bundelkhand region in terms of 3 indicators -- proportion of children under 5 years who are stunted (height-for-age); proportion of children under 5 years who are wasted (weight-for-height); and proportion of children under 5 years who are underweight (weight-for-age). However, the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) data also indicates that severe under-nutrition like severe wasting and anaemia among...

-The Hindu Bench asks States to provide data on malnutrition, starvation deaths and other related issues within two weeks The Supreme Court’s questions on hunger deaths drew a near blank from the Union government on Tuesday. The government’s response skirted from urging the court to ask the States for data, making sweeping comments about malnutrition in “developing countries” to reading statistics out of a 2015 health survey report and a newspaper article. “Why are...