-The Hindu Some hydel projects that claim exemption from environmental clearance on the basis of size provide a misleading picture of their impact Why would more than four gram panchayats, environmental activists from three States, the presiding swami of the Subramanya Temple, botanists, fisheries scientists, and institutions like the Indian Institute of Science oppose a small hydel project in a remote corner of the Western Ghats in Karnataka? Aren't small hydel projects...

The poor man’s rich grain is getting richer – a new study published in the Journal of Nutrition shows that a variety of new pearl millet (more commonly known as bajra), which was conventionally bred to be 10% richer in iron helped iron-deficient children under the age of 3 years, to absorb enough of this crucial mineral to meet their physiological requirements. (See links below for full text and a...

-The Hindu Collector asks people to have a blueprint for making their village free from open defecation Vellore (Tamil Nadu): Gram sabhas conducted four times in a year - on Republic Day, May Day, Independence Day and Gandhi Jayanthi - are meant to be an open forum to enable public to demand schemes, especially on basic amenities required for the villages and benefits from welfare schemes. But, in reality, the public, especially...

-PTI Kolkata: The Trinamul Congress swept the three-tier panchayat polls in West Bengal capturing 13 out of 17 Zilla Parishads, while the Congress put up a poor show with just one in Murshidabad. TMC's clean sweep in the zilla parishads in 11 of 12 south Bengal districts and two out of five north Bengal districts, demonstrated that the two-and-a-half-years of incumbency and controversies, including the Saradha chit fund scam, by and large,...

-Outlook Social indices topper Kerala just can't stop the baby deaths in its malnutrition-hit tribal Attapady belt Under the thick canopy of a peepal tree, beside the road that winds to Pallur Ooru in Attapady in the Western Ghats, is a small tribal burial ground. There are no tombstones to mark the graves and on closer look one sees tiny mounds where the mud has been disturbed. In a quiet corner,...