-Down to Earth Will the Aayog's vision be any different than the top-down approach of its predecessor, the Planning Commission? WITH THE end of the 12th Five Year Plan on March 31, India’s 65-year tryst with five-year economic development planning has come to an end. In 2014, when the National Democratic Alliance government scrapped the Planning Commission and replaced it with the National Institute of Transforming India (NITI) Aayog, it announced...

-TheWire.in Inaction of state government to regulate abattoirs in the past cannot be a shield for imposing “a state of almost prohibition” on meat, says Allahabad high court. Noting that Food habits are an essential part of UP’s secular culture, the Allahabad high court held that Food and trade in foodstuff is constitutionally guaranteed under the right to live. The Lucknow bench of the high court was ruling on a petition brought...

-The Times of India Chennai: From a humble crop that once satiated the poor to the base of a gourmet meal for the health conscious, millets have made a comeback. While flavours of the grain may vary to suit modern palates, a doctor's ideal recipe is still traditional. A research paper has documented this formula and tracked its impact on people with diabetes. The study, undertaken by M V Hospital for Diabetes, found...

-The Times of India AGRA: From transporting meat only in insulated freezer vans to health certificates for all workers, from forbidding meat shops near religious places and vegetable markets to strict FSDA compliance, the UP government has sent out an elaborate list of dos and don'ts for meat shop owners. The list of necessary infrastructure is so exhaustive, said meat shop owners, that most retailers will have to down shutters permanently. However,...

-Hindustan Times The recent crackdown on meat shops in Uttar Pradesh offers a peek into the ethical divide that exists between vegetarians and non-vegetarians in India. The increase in meat consumption, intensive animal farming and growing cruelty against animals has given rise to compassion movements across the world. It should be a matter of pride therefore that India is among the most-vegetarian countries in the world. But how does meat become a...