-Down to Earth So far livestock-related schemes were only catering to settled farmers, herders The Union government admitted that India’s pastoralist communities fell through the cracks when it comes to them benefitting from various schemes. It has urged states with sizeable population of such communities to work to prevent this. There is a significant population of pastoralists or cattle herders across India who move from one place to another to graze their animals....

-The Telegraph 'Shocking that govt is trying to evade responsibility by issuing circulars that call on state governments to comply with FSSAI regulations' Jamshedpur, New Delhi: Two citizens’ alliances on Monday accused the Centre of trying to “cover up” what they have described as its “irresponsible” and “unscientific” decision to release iron-fortified rice through government food schemes and exposing vulnerable people to the potential health risks of iron overdose. The Right to Food...

Door-to-door and village-to-village surveys carried out by researchers of the Department of Economics and Sociology, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana detected a total of 9,291 suicides that were committed by farmers in six districts of Punjab during the period from 2000 to 2018. Situated in the Malwa region of Punjab, which is known for cotton farming and the prevalence of cancer among its population, Sangrur (2,506) witnessed the highest number of...

-TheSwaddle.com A position paper drafted by a committee of experts under the National Education Policy recommended removing meat and eggs from the midday meal scheme in schools, which is one of the mainstays of children’s nutrition in the country. The committee made some dubious claims pertaining to lifestyle, genetics, and discrimination in justifying the policy — revealing the inherent casteist roots of food politics in India. The Swaddle’s Rohitha Naraharisetty spoke to...

-Down to Earth More than half of population without access to banking lives in 7 developing countries: World Bank India is among seven countries home to half the world’s 1.4 billion adults without access to formal banking, a recent World Bank report has flagged. The report also noted that in Sub-Saharan Africa, young adults (ages 15–24) make up almost 40 per cent of those without access to banking. But in some European and...