-Down to Earth Long-term exposure to organophosphate insecticides puts the farming community at a higher risk of developing diabetes, shows a study IN 2011, a 15-year-old girl from Madurai was admitted to hospital for diabetes ketoacidosis. It is a life-threatening condition that develops when cells in the body are unable to get the sugar (glucose) they need due to the lack of insulin. Krishnan Swaminathan, an endocrinologist and president of the...

-The Hindu Rise in cancer cases in Punjab can be attributed to indiscriminate use of agro-chemicals after the Green Revolution Bathinda: Lying on a bench at the Bathinda railway station, sexagenarian Gurjant Singh waits to board the Abohar-Jodhpur passenger train. He, however, is not the only one waiting. As the train chugs into the platform, people rush to claim their seats. Those who are unsuccessful settle down on the floor. Soon, the...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: A parliamentary panel has voiced shock that a scholarship for underprivileged meritorious students had not been revised since the scheme was launched in 2008, leaving it at less than half of what households now spend on average on a higher secondary student. According to a survey on social consumption, households spend Rs 12,619 a year on a plus-2 student's schooling, while the yearly amount under the National Means-cum-Merit...

-Livemint.com FSSAI says it has set up a scientific panel on ‘food fortification and nutrition’ to help fight malnutrition in the country New Delhi: The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) on Tuesday said it has set up a scientific panel on “food fortification and nutrition” to help fight malnutrition in the country. On 2 February, the regulator notified a draft plan to make supply of fortified food mandatory for government-supported...

-Scroll.in Public Distribution System dealers have strict instructions not to distribute rations without Aadhaar-linked authentication. Kairi Tidu, aged 10 years or so, was wearing her school uniform at a recent public hearing on the Public Distribution System in Khunti, Jharkhand, because she had nothing better to wear for the occasion. She explained how her family had been deprived of Public Distribution System rice during the last few months. Her parents have migrated...