-The Telegraph Environmental activists have criticized the outcome of the recently concluded Rio+20 summit as insubstantial. They are not wrong, but they have missed the main point. There was a very real danger that, far from registering progress, the summit would actually mark a giant step backwards for sustainable development. Rich and powerful countries made a concerted attempt to actually undo and reverse the advances that were achieved 20 years ago...

-The Times of India Rice isn't the diet villain as commonly thought. In fact, two types of rice commonly consumed by India's middle classes have now been found to have the lowest Glycemic Index (GI) — the measure of its ability to raise blood sugar levels after eating -- when compared with 233 other types of rice consumed around the world. Swarna and Mahsuri's GI levels were below 55. Another favourite among...

-The Times of India GUWAHATI: Assam is no stranger to floods. But this deluge is the worst it has seen in many years. The first wave of floods—from April to Juneclaimed 126 lives. More than 700 animals in Kaziranga National Park and elsewhere have died. Fears of a second wave hitting soon loom large. The annual devastation comes in multiple waves in Assam—three to four—starting from April. According to the state disaster...

-Inclusion.in There is good news. And there’s bad news. The good news first. There’s been a bumper wheat crop and the granaries are overflowing. And the bad news? Where do we begin? A lot of that grain will rot. Millions will still remain hungry. Heavily in debt and distressed, farmers are committing suicide. Food prices are soaring. There’s more… Farmers don’t have money. Their land is too small and isn’t yielding much. Fertilisers and...

-The Telegraph Next time you take a 10-minute coffee break, spare a thought. By the time you come back refreshed, a mother would have died. India recorded 56,000 maternal deaths in 2010, according to a UN report, which makes it six every hour — or one every 10 minutes. The report, released in India on July 2, means that despite various schemes launched by the Centre and state governments, the number of deaths...