-The Hindu Obesity and diabetes cases increase in urban areas; experts blame it on stress and faulty diet. Higher stress levels in rural India and faulty diet in cities have thrown up two most disturbing health concerns in the National Family Health Survey (NFHS), the data for which was released on Wednesday. While obesity levels have shot up in the country since the last NFHS survey in 2005-06, the number of people...

-Livemint.com The economist believes inequality in India is comparable with Brazil, South Africa but lack of transparency over direct tax statistics in India hinders his study here New Delhi: Economist Thomas Piketty believes inequality in India is comparable with that in Brazil and South Africa. Like the two other emerging economies, where the richest 10% of the population has a 60-65% share of total wealth, a similar scenario probably exists in...

-The Indian Express The odd-even pilot reduced hourly particulate air pollution concentrations by 10-13 per cent. But for the longer run, a congestion-pricing programme may be better Delhi’s ambitious odd-even pilot experiment to reduce the number of cars on the road, and pollution in the air, has come to an end — at least for now. But the question remains: Was it successful? Answering this question is challenging. Air pollution data is...

-The Financial Express In a bid to effectively deal with the current agriculture crisis, the government must publish annual data on farmers’ income for ensuring that the programmes and policies are focused towards their welfare, Ramesh Chand, member, Niti Aayog, said on Sunday. In a bid to effectively deal with the current agriculture crisis, the government must publish annual data on farmers’ income for ensuring that the programmes and policies are focused...

-The Indian Express New crop insurance scheme is welcome. Its litmus test: Whether crop-damage assessment can be done within two weeks of the extreme weather event and compensation paid a week after that The Narendra Modi-led government needs to be complimented for taking the first major step to revamp the crop insurance system to address the increasing distress in Indian farming. With back-to-back droughts, and unseasonal rain and hail in certain...