-The Financial Express Price-policy initiatives and technological innovations show promise, given the record output of pulses in 2013 Rising incomes and urbanisation, unfolding globalisation and changing tastes are leading to diversified consumption baskets. There is greater uptake of dairy products, meat, vegetables and fruits among Indian consumers while the converse is true for cereals and pulses. Amidst these, protein consumption has taken a hit while fat intake has been rising. A recent...

-The United Nations If demand for new land on which to grow food continues at the current rate, by 2050, high-end estimates are that area nearly the size of Brazil could be ruined, with vital forests, savannahs and grassland lost, the United Nations today warned in a new report. Up to 849 million hectares of natural land may be degraded, according to report, "Assessing Global Land Use: Balancing Consumption with Sustainable Supply",...

-The Hindu     Move to push this year's expenditure to next fiscal is intended to keep the fiscal deficit within target The Finance Minister of the next government post-elections will have to pay the price for the United Progressive Alliance's (UPA) subsidy and social spend. The Finance Ministry plans to book in next financial year, 2014-15, the expenditure that will be incurred on subsidies during the remaining months of the current fiscal (January-March). ...

-The United Nations The world will need 70 per cent more food, as measured by calories, to feed a global population of 9.6 billion in 2050, and must achieve this through improvements in the way people produce and consume, according to a report released today by the United Nations and its partners. "Over the next several decades, the world faces a grand challenge - and opportunity - at the intersection of food...

-The Hindu Hyderabad: Severe tropical cyclone Helen tapered off into a low pressure area on Saturday causing extensive damage to standing paddy crop and leaving six dead in the four districts of coastal Andhra region. According to official reports, six persons - two each in Krishna and East Godavari and one each in Srikakulam and West Godavari - were dead while paddy crop spread over 3.5 lakh hectares suffered extensive damage. In...