-Livemint.com * Farm distress, stagnant incomes have eroded demand, shows Nielsen data * Consumption in rural areas grew at 5% in terms of value in the Sep quarter, while in urban India, the growth was 8% Rural household consumption slumped to a seven-year low in the September quarter, in a sign that the prolonged agrarian distress and near-stagnant rural incomes have eroded demand for consumer goods, market researcher Nielsen said. Consumption of packaged consumer...

-Down to Earth The number of camels, pigs, donkeys, horses, mules, ponies and indigenous cattle breeds has drastically declined The number of Indian livestock has increased due to a rise in the population of sheep and goats, even as indigenous cattle and other farm animals have declined, according to the 20th Livestock Census. The livestock census has been periodically conducted once in every five years since 1919. But the 20th census was conducted...

-The Indian Express UNICEF report found that one in three children under the age of five years — around 200 million children worldwide — are either undernourished or overweight. And in India, every second child is affected by some form of malnutrition. On Tuesday, UNICEF released its State of the World’s Children report for 2019. The first UNICEF report in 20 years on child nutrition, it comes on the heels of...

-Livemint.com * The slowdown was more pronounced in northern India * Rural India contributes 36% to overall FMCG spends New Delhi: Consumption in rural India fell to a seven-year low in the September quarter, growing at a slower pace than that witnessed in urban areas, in a sign that prolonged agrarian distress, uneven rainfall spread, and stagnant rural incomes have hit sales of branded packaged goods, market researcher Nielsen said in its quarterly...

-Livemint.com * The report also took note of open defecation in India as an impacting factor for health * Public health experts have also said that India need some more time to tackle malnutrition and the efforts are going on New Delhi: While India is tagged as a country with ‘serious’ levels of hunger, climate change will further worsen its undernutrition levels, the Global Hunger Index (GHI) 2019, a report jointly published by...