-The New Indian Express   Most people would have been shocked to read the year-end report that India has been ranked 63rd, much below countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal, on the Global Hunger Index (GHI), a yardstick used by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) to comprehensively measure global hunger. The index is calculated as an average of three indices-undernourishment, underweight children and low child mortality rate-and is measured on a...

-The Times of India KOLKATA: Prices of air-conditioners and refrigerators will increase by between Rs 3,500 and Rs 5,500 as early as next week due to stricter energy rating norms that will push up production costs. The Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), the statutory energy conservation body under the power ministry, has tightened energy norms for air-conditioners by one level and those for refrigerators by two levels. This means, an existing five-star...

-Outlook The price of non-subsidised cooking gas (LPG), which customers buy after consuming their quota of subsidised cylinders, was hiked by a steep Rs 220 per bottle today on firming international rates. The 14.2-kg cooking gas cylinder that consumers buy beyond their entitled nine bottles at subsidised rates, will now cost Rs 1,241, up from Rs 1,021 in Delhi, state-owned fuel retailers said. This is the third increase in non-subsidised LPG rates in...

-World Resources Institute India struggles with water scarcity, a problem that poses especially huge implications for the country's food security and rural livelihoods. The country has long-battled its scarcity issues through Watershed Development, a participatory approach to improve water management through afforestation and reforestation, sustainable land management, soil and water conservation, water-harvesting infrastructure, and social interventions. But while watershed development has been employed in communities throughout India, its potential long-term costs...

-Vikalp The recently concluded Bali Ministerial marks an important milestone in the WTO negotiations. The National Food Security Act, 2013 in India has brought the issue of food security and hunger within developing countries to the forefront of the negotiations in the WTO. In this context, the G-33 proposal addressing the issue of non-recognition of food security concerns of developing countries within the global trade rules reflected a meaningful unity within...