-The Indian Express Non-payment of last season’s dues and no SAP being declared for 2020-21, with more than two months of crushing over, can emerge as a potential flashpoint in the ongoing farmers’ agitation. New Delhi: The farmers’ agitation, until now, has been about Punjab and Haryana, wheat and paddy, and concerns over the future of minimum support price (MSP)-based procurement and agricultural produce market committee mandis. But there’s one elephant in the...

-The Indian Express Though overall trends do suggest an improvement in population control, use of modern contraception, reproductive and child health, immunisation and social determinants of health, a complete overhaul is needed to identify and address the multidimensional aspects of child malnutrition. Population-based surveys form the bedrock of the country’s health information systems. Use of accurate and nationally representative data can be instrumental in policy planning, programme design, health system monitoring and...

-The Indian Express With the figures indicating that the job crisis triggered by Covid-19 continues, Kerala economy may be facing long-term impact, with remittances from abroad, mainly West Asia, its lifeline. Thiruvananthapuram: AMIDST the Covid-19 pandemic-induced economic crisis, 5.52 lakh people who have returned to Kerala from abroad since May last year have given loss of jobs as reason, according to government data. As per figures compiled by the Department of Non-Resident Keralites...

-Down to Earth Northern plains region in India and Pakistan most impacted, meeting India’s air quality standard would have reduced loss by 7 per cent Pregnant women in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh exposed to poor-quality air may be at higher risk of stillbirths and miscarriages, according to a study published in the Lancet Planetary Health journal January 6 2020. Some 349,681 pregnancies were lost every year in these three South Asian countries due...

-The Indian Express The state has taken up 1.31 lakh works under the scheme in the past 9 months till December 31, 2020 including some spill over works of the last financial year out of which only 19,612 works (around 15 per cent of the total taken up works) could be completed till date. Jalandhar: Despite generating 269 lakh person days and starting on a good note despite Covid-19, Punjab has only...