-The Indian Express Makka ki roti aur sarson ka sag is a popular food item in northern India, in particular, Punjab, Haryana and Western Uttar pradesh where both maize and mustard are widely grown. All vegetarian dishes made in much of northern, eastern and western India are cooked in mustard (sarson) oil. Why, suddenly, has mustard taken centre stage? GM mustard has begun to stir both the scientific and activist lobbies,...

-The Indian Express The decision on compulsory counting of paper trail slips, which was approved by the full Commission before Nasim Zaidi retired as the Chief Election Commissioner on Wednesday, is a response to the demand made by political parties at a meeting held by the EC on May 12. In a bid to further reinforce the credibility of electronic voting machines, the Election Commission (EC) has decided to mandatorily tally...

-The Indian Express Having discontinued funds for some welfare and freebie schemes launched by his predecessor, the chief minister claimed that his government was able to make provisions for the loan waiver by cutting down on “shashan ki fizulkharchi” (extravagant expenses of the government). Lucknow: The Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar pradesh Tuesday presented its maiden Budget worth Rs 3,84,659 crore, 11 per cent more than the one presented by the previous...

-Livemint.com For same wealth levels, chances of owning cattle are more or less the same for Hindus and Muslims Given the increasing incidents of violence under the garb of cow protection in the country—these are driven largely by the belief that Muslims engage with the cattle economy mostly for meat (as butchers, commission agents or beef eaters)—it makes sense to view the cattle economy in the country through the prism of religion. An...

-Hindustan Times It’s a paradoxical fact. Families become smaller as better nutrition, vaccination and healthcare ensure couples lose fewer children to malnutrition and infections, such as diarrhoea, pneumonia, sepsis and tuberculosis India’s most comprehensive report card on health released earlier this year shows India’s total fertility rate (TFR) has dropped from an average of 2.7 children per women in 2006 to 2.2 a decade later. Around two in three states that are...