-The Economic Times MUMBAI: The Union Cabinet this week passed an ordinance to implement the National Food Security Bill (NFSB). The bill guarantees legal entitlement of food grains at a subsidised price to ~67 per cent of India's population. The ordinance will come into effect immediately once it is signed by the President. But it also needs to be approved by both the houses of Parliament in the monsoon session within six...

-The United Nations Without fresh ideas to address rapid urbanization, the number of people living in slums lacking access to basic infrastructure and services such as sanitation, electricity, and health care may skyrocket from one billion at present to three billion by 2050, the United Nations today reported. That wake up call is one of several alarm bells sounded in the UN World Economic and Social Survey 2013, which was launched today...

-The Telegraph North India is among a small number of regions scattered across the globe vulnerable to severe and multiple impacts of climate change, a study by an international team of researchers has predicted. The study, based on computer simulations of future climate scenarios, suggests that northern India may experience sharp drops in yields of key crops and severe ecosystem changes that may show up as altered landscapes. While earlier studies have explored...

-The Business Standard UN report shows holes in govt's food security proposal The United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has worked out the cost of malnutrition to the world economy: about five per cent of its annual gross domestic product, or $3.5 trillion, in terms of foregone production and health expenditure. Even more important is the FAO's assessment of potential gains from investment in enhancing the nutritional standards of the population....

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Are you surprised by the staggering number of people, many from across India, who are stranded in calamity-stricken Uttarakhand? The reason is quite simple: in a state with a total population of just over 1 crore, the number of tourists visiting it is 2.5 crore, both figures being for 2011. And most of these tourists visit the mountain state in summer. Put this together with the...