-The Hindu Breastfeeding is inversely proportional to household wealth and other factors, says study. Malnutrition among children in urban India is characterised by relatively poor levels of breastfeeding, higher prevalence of iron and Vitamin D deficiency as well as obesity due to long commute by working mothers, prosperity and lifestyle patterns, while rural parts of the country see higher percentage of children suffering from stunting, underweight and wasting and lower consumption of...

-The Hindu ‘Several States are demanding a register, though they are competent enough to detect and deport foreign nationals’ Before the Centre rolls out a plan to compile a countrywide National Register of Citizens (NRC) on the lines of the document compiled in Assam, it will have to decide a common cut-off date, a senior government official said. Home Minister Amit Shah reiterated his stand on a wider NRC exercise a few days...

-The Hindu Business Line The rise in female malnutrition can be countered by integrating a women-focussed initiative with the National Nutrition Mission India is home to the largest proportion of malnourished children in the world, with widespread prevalence of stunting, wasting and people being underweight. That said, a more pertinent factor is that malnutrition is the most significant contributor of the under-five mortality in India. According to the United Nations, India has...

-The Hindu Business Line The seeds regime should protect farmers’ interests, says Alliance for Sustainable and Holistic Agriculture Hyderabad: The Alliance for Sustainable and Holistic Agriculture (ASHA) has called for a seed regime that would protect the farmer’s right to breed, select, save, use, exchange, distribute and sell seeds. The regime should also encourage agro-diversity to ensure sustainable agriculture and resilience to climate change stresses. Referring to reports on the proposed amendments to...

-The Hindu Onion producers, however, have called an agitation, with one farmers’ group threatening a strike if the export ban is not lifted. Onion prices in Delhi have dropped below the Rs.60 a kg mark in the retail market for the first time in two weeks, as the Central government’s measures, imposing stock limits and banning exports, took effect, cooling off the prices in most parts of the country. Onion producers, however, have...