-The Indian Express In Madhya Pradesh’s Hoshangabad district, reeling under malnourishment, govt shuts eggs out of anganwadis while locals see hope in poultry farming Maryarpura (Hoshangabad): Gagan Lachhu is so emaciated that he can hardly walk on his own. In a few months he will turn two but his weight is an alarming six kilograms. “Once, we nearly forced his mother to admit him at the Nutrition Rehabilitation Centre in Itarsi...

-The Indian Express Child nutrition is being held hostage to spurious, largely upper caste, arguments Child nutrition is prime-time news only when a tragedy occurs. Child undernutrition is no less a tragedy but rarely recognised as such. Attention to it, following the Madhya Pradesh chief minister’s rejection of a proposal to introduce eggs in anganwadis is significant and welcome. Few people realise food intake in India is very poor. According to the 2005-06...

-The Hindu The 2013 Act was supposed to have been implemented by July 5, 2014 The Centre’s resolve to rid the country of hunger will be tested with a petition being filed in the Supreme Court challenging the year-long delay in implementing the Right to Food Act and validity of three administrative directions issued by the government, postponing food and cash entitlements from reaching the poor. A petition filed by the People’s Union...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: School education secretary Vrinda Sarup today voiced concern over the reduced allocation in funds for the midday-meal programme, saying she hoped the finance ministry would restore the budget for something that has helped bring back children to school. "Dialogues are on. We hope the MDM (scheme) would be protected," Sarup told a media conference organised to present the achievements of the human resource development ministry over the past...

-Tehelka Agrarian policies are proving to be an albatross around the neck of ordinary farmers Amon Singh Kevat, 70, a small farmer in Vidisha, Madhya Pradesh, spent three long days in April waiting for his harvest to be picked up from an open plot that served as a mandi (procurement centre for agricultural produce). In need of money for a marriage in the family, Kevat didn’t even go home for meals. But...