-Down to Earth Long-term exposure to organophosphate insecticides puts the farming community at a higher risk of developing diabetes, shows a study IN 2011, a 15-year-old girl from Madurai was admitted to hospital for diabetes ketoacidosis. It is a life-threatening condition that develops when cells in the body are unable to get the sugar (glucose) they need due to the lack of insulin. Krishnan Swaminathan, an endocrinologist and president of the...

-The Indian Express Learning outcomes are assessment standards which help teachers to understand the learning levels of students in their respective classes, individually as well as collectively. THE HRD Ministry has amended the rules under the Right to Education (RTE) Act to make it compulsory for all state governments to codify expected levels of learning which students in Classes I to VIII should achieve in different subjects. A common practice globally, this...

-The Times of India UDAIPUR: Buying rations in Kotra, a backward settlement around 125km from Udaipur, now requires a vital skill: tree-climbing. At many centres here, it is a common sight to see men and women perched on tree branches, waiting for hours for their turn to get their fingerprints and biometrics verified by the PoS (point of sale) machines. That done, they climb down and walk back miles to the ration...

-The Hindu Growing disenchantment with the existing model of globalisation is also a historic opportunity to frame new rules granting equal opportunities to all in the global marketplace The visit of Roberto Azevêdo, Director General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to India, from February 8, comes at a juncture when the framework of global trade rules is undergoing a shake-up. The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) — which had almost become the standard...

-The Hindu The primary aim of the demonetisation exercise was to tap black money. To mark the last day for depositing the demonetised notes, on December 31, 2016, the Prime Minister, in his address to the nation, fully acknowledged the great hardship suffered by common people due to the serious delay in making the new currency notes available in the banks, ATMs and rural areas, and thanked them for the faith...