-The Hindu Current method is based on pre-1960s rainfall data, says expert; report also calls for changes in agro plans owing to shift in rainfall and temperature variation A recent analysis of the last 58 years’ (1960 to 2017) weather data of Karnataka has indicated a considerable shift in rainfall pattern in the State, which has a bearing on agriculture and water security. It calls for changes in the present cropping pattern and...

-Down to Earth All birds respond differently to different extreme weather events; long- and short-distance migration bird species are impacted differently by climate change The efforts of conservationists in protecting birds can now be more efficiently directed towards those species that are found to suffer more due to extreme weather events linked to climate change, showed a recent study. All birds respond differently to different extreme weather events. The impact of different species...

-The Indian Express Efforts to address child marriage in India should be in consonance with the socio-economic realities that demand investment in education, welfare, and opportunities for women. If Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s emphasis in his Independence Day speech on raising the legal age of marriage for women to 21 years is any indicator of the path the task force set up for this purpose is likely to tread, it needs to...

-The Hindu Addressing poverty is the key to improving the health and nutritional status of mothers and their infants From the ramparts of the Red Fort on Independence Day, the Prime Minister declared that the government is considering raising the legal age of marriage for girls, which is currently 18 years. He said, “We have formed a committee to ensure that daughters are no longer suffering from malnutrition and they are married...

-The Hindu Office cites ‘diversion of resources’ clause; former CIC Wajahat Habibullah terms it ‘misuse of Act’. The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has denied a Right to Information request related to the PM-CARES Fund on the grounds that providing it would “disproportionately divert the resources of the office.” However, a High Court judgment and multiple orders of the Central Information Commission (CIC) have previously held that, under the RTI Act, this rationale...