-The Economic Times NEW DELHI: The government is infusing fresh urgency into implementation of the Swachh Bharat Rural scheme after a detailed review by Prime Minister Narendra Modi last month triggered concerns that at its current pace the flagship cleanliness programme could miss its deadline of 2019. Barely 11 per cent of India's 6.38 lakh villages have Turned open defecation free so far, with only 17 of the 683 districts declared ODF...

-The Economic Times NEW DELHI: Farmers in Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Gujarat are planting pulses this kharif season, largely urad, arhar and moong because of better prices and concerns of cotton crop failure in North West India, while in Gujarat it was delay in monsoon rains, say farmers. The area under pulses rose to 26.9% from the past week and 39.39% over the previous year in the same period to 90.17 lakh...

-The Hindu India must convert its young population to a competitive advantage, and nutrition and health are foundational to that outcome. The “Global Nutrition Report 2016” once again demonstrates India’s slow overall progress in addressing chronic malnutrition, manifest in stunting (low weight for age), wasting (low weight for height), micronutrient deficiencies and over-weight. Our track record in reducing the proportion of undernourished children over the past decade has been modest at best,...

-The Times of INdia Lucknow: Over 56% infant deaths reported in UP take place within first 28 days of birth. The phenomenon contributes tremendously to state's high infant mortality rate. The number translates into death of 1.51 lakh newborn babies. As many as 56 lakh babies are born in UP each year. Of these, 27 neonates per 1,000 live births die before they are four-week-old. Of the total, 36% deaths are reported...

-Frontline The inability to resolve pressing problems with respect to the production, distribution and availability of food is one of the important failures of the entire economic reform process. IN the fateful month of July 1991, when the devaluation of the Indian rupee presaged the introduction of a whole series of liberalising economic reforms, agriculTure was very far from the minds of most policymakers and commentators. The immediate focus was on...