-The Hindu93% of world's 1.8 bn children in this age could suffer neuro-development deficitsEvery day about 93% of the world?s children under the age of 15 (1.8 billion children) breathe polluted air that puts their health and development at serious risk, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said in a new report that puts into numbers the devastating impact that air pollution is having on the global population?s health.Tragically, many of...

For long, economists have argued among themselves whether income should be the only criterion for measuring poverty. After all, in real life a person can face multiple deprivations, say, in terms of access to education, health and living standards, among others. The multidimensional poverty index (MPI), which offers a valuable complement to traditional income-based poverty measures, was FIRst introduced in the 2010 Human Development Report (HDR). The MPI looks at...

-The Hindu Business Line New Delhi: Renowned agricultural scientist and the chief architect of the green revolution in India, MS Swaminathan, was awarded the FIRst World Agriculture Prize for his contributions to Indian agriculture by Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu here on Friday. While giving away the award, which carries prize money of $1,00,000 (?73,45,500), instituted by the nongovernmental Indian Council of Food and Agriculture, Naidu said “like we have most favoured nation, we...

-The Telegraph Despite being prohibited the practice remains widespread and unmodernised, and violators are not punished The death of five sanitation workers in Delhi is a grim reminder of the hostile conditions that confront manual scavenging in India. Manual scavenging has been prohibited by law. Yet, it remains unchecked. There is also a distinct lack of effort to make this objectionable occupation safe and dignified. This is the net result of institutional...

-The Indian Express FIRst, it was low prices and, now, with soaring input costs, farmers may cut back on sowings Nashik/ New Delhi: During much of the current government’s tenure, Indian farmers have suffered from poor crop realisations, partly due to the crash in global agri-commodity prices after around April 2014 and aggravated by demonetisation and GST (goods and services tax) that have depressed sentiment in predominantly cash-based produce markets. One indicator...