-The Hindu Business Line How malnourished tribal adults come to have the ‘rich man’s disease’ About 50 km from Bilaspur town, a narrow road to the left leads to the Achanakmar Tiger Reserve in neighbouring Lormi district of Chhattisgarh. The Reserve is also home to 13,568 tribals in 40 hamlets inside the protected area. As one ventures deeper into the jungles, paintings across walls of tribals’ homes hailing Chief Minister Raman Singh’s benevolence...

-Livemint.com The production of ‘mahua’ is finally entering the formal economy as new initiatives seek to upscale this indigenous drink, selling it across the country and even the globe It is a cloudy morning in Nangur village in Bastar district, Chattisgarh. It is a settlement of a little over 400 families, considered fairly large in these parts. We make a bumpy journey down a narrow, unpaved road intermittently shaded by sargi (sal)...

-Deccan Chronicle Critical to human life as they provide all of world’s freshwater. Kochi: Wetlands, the most economically valuable and among the most biodiverse ecosystems in the world, are disappearing three times faster than forests. A new report by the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands warned of severe consequences for the future unless urgent action is taken to ensure their survival. Approximately 35 per cent of the world’s wetlands were lost between 1970-2015 with...

-The Hindu The government must stop storing millions of tonnes of foodgrains in the open under tarpaulins In India, the height of the rainy season is a time that one prays will pass — flooded roads, wet clothes, masses of insects and mould. No place is safe from the growth of fungi that spring up overnight. With the humidity in the air and the warmth of summer, all that fungi need is...

A recent report by the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) enlightens one about the state of farmers' income and indebtedness in 2015-16. Entitled NABARD All India Rural Financial Inclusion Survey 2016-17 – in short NAFIS 2016-17 – the report says that between 2012-13 and 2015-16 the average monthly income for agricultural households grew by around 39 percent. One may recall that the Key Indicators of Situation Assessment Survey...