-Down to Earth As June ends, the monsoon, it turns out, is deficient by 40 per cent. Despite the forecast of its revival in July, it is a concern for India's rainfed areas that account for significant foodgrain production and also host the largest number of farmers in the country. More than 100 districts are officially "chronic drought-affected" areas. Why have we not been able to drought-proof them? On June 28 Prime...

-The New York Times     Small-scale farmers in the developing world, using low-tech sustainable agricultural techniques, may just hold the key to ensuring global food security, writes Andrea Stone The challenge is huge but the solution may be small, very small. Faced with global warming and a population that will swell to 9 billion by 2050, a growing number of experts say that the way to feed the masses as climate change makes...

-The Economic Times In January 2012, PM Manmohan Singh declared half of India's children were malnourished and that was a national shame. Yet since then, not a single comprehensive national survey was conducted to determine the acuteness of the problem or measure progress, if any, of steps initiated to address malnutrition. Worse, the issue figures in a token manner in the election discourse of political parties and candidates. The 2005-06 National...

-Thomson Reuters Foundation The lastest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report not only provides new evidence but also sounds an alarm over the impact climate change is having on compounding hunger and significantly disrupting food grain production. Apart from leaving the world hungry and hot, the changing climate will also offset gains against poverty and hunger, especially among the marginalized communities. The new report makes unequivocal projections for India being one...

-Down to Earth 68th Round of National Sample Survey makes it amply clear that the wave of economic growth has not percolated down from the 0.003 per cent of population of ruling elite (as per Income Tax records, only 42,800 persons have taxable Income more than Rs 1 crore in India). 99.996 per cent population is spending between just Rs 25.90 and Rs 37.36 per capita per day (average MPCE) in...