-PTI New Delhi: To meet the demand for fertiliser in the ongoing kharif season, the government has contracted 2 million tonnes of urea import for delivery by the month-end. India is dependent on urea imports as domestic output is lower than the demand. Overseas purchase is being done via three state trading enterprises — STC, MMTC and IPL. “Our urea requirement is 2.5 million tonnes for this kharif season. We have finalised imports...

-The Hindu Business Line Supplementary nutrition scheme to be standardised New Delhi: The flagship Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS), which aims to provide nutritious food to children aged 0-6, is being revamped and may be standardised to address the issue of “high” malnutrition. As per the Global Nutrition Report, 39 per cent of children (0-5 years) in India are stunted, much higher than the global average of 24 per cent. Tackling malnutrition The Women &...

It was a Rashomon moment for the readers of the First Common Review Mission report when they heard activists complaining about the pension system of Rajasthan during a recent press conference held in the capital. The First Common Review Mission (CRM) report, which was prepared during the month of May this year by a team of 32 experts had observed that pension related payments under the National Social Assistance Programmes (NSAP)...

-The Times of India Bamnipal/ Sukinda: Between March and June this year, at least 12 children died in Nagada village, located in the forests of Odisha's Jajpur district. The underlying reason for their deaths was malnutrition, local medical authorities and community workers said. The village population is solely of the Juang scheduled tribe, one of India's ancient tribes, declared 'particularly vulnerable' by the government. For the past two months, a chicken pox...

-The Hindu As cereal consumption comes down despite higher output, India needs to ramp up production of pulses to meet the nutritional requirements of the population. Since the onset of the Green Revolution in the late 1960s, India has been treading on a path towards self-sufficiency in food. The achievements have remained highly skewed towards wheat and rice on account of technological as well as policy support towards these two crops. With...