The right to food has gained significant recognition in Africa, Asia, Latin America and South Asia, but more national institutional reforms are needed to ensure that the fight against hunger is rooted in legal mechanisms, a United Nations expert has said. “Boosting food production should not be confused with realizing the human right to food,” said Olivier De Schutter, the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food. “If the international...

"India lives in several centuries at the same time. Somehow we manage to progress and regress simultaneously." Arundhati Roy Controversies, protests and violence have marred land acquisition for projects in India. Protests against acquiring agricultural land, inappropriate compensation or environmental impact have been the main reasons for these protests. In most cases, the protests are by farmers who are hardly compensated after their fertile agricultural land is taken over in for...

Posco, the world's fourth largest steel maker, was in January ranked among a global list of 100 companies that will last for the next 100 years. Interestingly, governance, transparency and capacity to handle environment-related issues are taken into account in selecting these 100 companies "Posco will not only last the next 100 years, but will go beyond, and India will play a big part in our story of survival and growth", CK...

The monthly farmers' grievance meeting held here at the district collectorate on Friday witnessed a slew of demands from farmers ranging from early desilting of PWD channels to release of crop loans to opposition of proposed power projects. There was a collective demand for desilting of PWD channels before water was released from the Mettur Dam. Transparency in the number of channels listed for desilting, along with works cost involved for...

Parinathi, a Non Government Organisation is bringing smiles on the faces of farmers in 5 GPs of Kadur taluk by providing technical assistance.    It has been taking up watershed works, promoting organic farming and self-employment to economically backward families for the last 2 years. The organisation will work for the implementation of various projects worth Rs 80 lakh under the Watershed Development Fund of NABARD in the last four years. Schemes...