-Livemint.com From 14 March the farmer organisations will carry out a public consultation and audit of the MSP system in mandis in eight states and raise the demand to make MSPs a legal entitlement for farmers New Delhi: Holding the government accountable for its budget promise of ensuring minimum support prices (MSP) to farmers, a host of farmer organisations on Wednesday flagged that the winter harvest of gram, lentils and mustard, which...

-Economic and Political Weekly The Government of India’s NFHS-4 offers the best new data on open defecation in rural India to be eleased in over a decade. Although open defecation has become less common than it was 10 years ago, it is still highly prevalent, with more than half of rural households reporting open defecation. On average, change has been slow, even during the period of the Swachh Bharat Mission. Please click...

-The Hindu Malnutrition is a complex problem and results from not getting enough food to not getting the right kind of food, says the United Nations WFP (India) Country Director Even with the world's largest subsidised food distribution systems serving 65 million poor families across the country, India continues to be home to a quarter of all malnourished people worldwide. In view of the incredible challenge of improving nutrition for all people...

-Livemint.com Data shows India’s sex ratio worsening, no clear picture of improvement in districts under the Beti Bachao scheme New Delhi: When Prime Minister Narendra Modi chose Jhunjhunu district in Rajasthan to announce the nationwide expansion of the government’s flagship Beti Bachao scheme on Thursday, the choice held a lot of symbolic import. Jhunjhunu, part of the initial 100 districts chosen for a targeted launch of the scheme in early 2015, has catapulted...

-The Hindu What Dhrubajyoti Ghosh closely observed and learnt from Kolkata’s wetland communities If ever there was someone who lived true to his name, it was Dhrubajyoti Ghosh. In Sanskrit, “Dhrubajyoti” refers to the light (jyoti) emitted by the pole star (dhruva tara). The ecologist, who passed away in February, was unwavering in his commitment to the cause he lived for and fearlessly defended: saving the ecologically critical East Kolkata Wetlands from...