-The Hindu Business Line   Perpetual growth is a piece of nonsense. The focus should be on protecting livelihoods through sustainable means Construct a building, demolish it, reconstruct, break it down again, and go on repeating this meaningless exercise. You will have economic growth, as currently measured. But no net gain in employment during the endless cycle of construction and demolition, no net increase in productive capacity, and no appreciable change in poverty...

-The Business Standard   Seize the chance to improve the food security Act Now that the National Food Security Act is set to be amended to give states more time to implement the legislation, several of its flaws should be re-examined and the Act suitably amended. The immediate need for an amendment arose because the deadline of a year for its enforcement in all states (that is, by July 5, 2014) was, oddly,...

-The Hindu Business Line   Small farmers in Jharkhand are growing more money and seeing better health, thanks to vegetables Indian farmers have often been perceived as lacking in initiative, but the latest developments on the farm front belie that stereotype. Not only have they shown initiative, they have started a quiet revolution. The phenomenon can be summed up in one word: vegetables. Small farmers, reeling from recurring droughts and declining productivity of staple...

-The Hindu Continuous monitoring of remedial measures planned in tribal hamlets Palakkad (Kerala): Three days after The Hindu reported that malnutrition continues to stalk tribal children in Attappady, various government agencies have decided to collectively combat the menace by not just ensuring nutritious food and medicines to the affected children but also ensuring continuous monitoring of the affirmative actions. Integrated Tribal Development Project (ITDP) Director P.V. Radhakrishnan said on Tuesday that a meeting...

-The Hindu   572 children need immediate attention Palakkad (Kerala): A year after a large number of child deaths were reported from Attappady owing to malnutrition, an official survey held in the past two weeks has found that 572 children below the age of five in the tribal belt still remain malnourished. As per the findings of the survey conducted by the National Rural Heath Mission (NRHM), the condition of 127 of these 572...