Gujarat, which is hailed as a role model of growth and development, witnessed the lowest calorie intake per person per day in rural areas among the 17 major states of India during 2011-12. This has been revealed by the 68th round National Sample Survey report entitled Nutritional Intake in India 2011-12 (See chart 1). It can be inferred from the NSSO report that except Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan, the daily...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: The Union environment ministry has refused to release bio-safety research dossiers on genetically modified mustard developed by Delhi University under review for possible commercial cultivation, activists campaigning against GM crops claimed today. The activists said the ministry had turned down their request filed under the Right to Information Act for the bio-safety dossiers containing data on environmental and toxicity studies done on the GM mustard engineered with bacterial...

-The Economic Times NEW DELHI: The rapid warming in the Indian Ocean is weakening the monsoon, particularly over central India where agriculture is still mostly rain-fed, a study by meteorologists at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology shows. The weakening trend in summer rainfall during 1901-2012 was also observed over the centraleast and northern regions of India, along the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna basins and the Himalayan foothills. This will include states of Uttar Pradesh,...

-The Indian Express The central government will increase the number of workdays under the rural job guarantee scheme from 100 to 150 in drought-affected areas, said sources. The NDA government is all set to increase the number of workdays under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) — a flagship scheme of the UPA government it had openly criticised earlier — in areas which may be affected by the...

-Tehelka The country has egg on its face but not in its diet, as the Global Hunger Index reveals acute malnutrition Swachh Bharat Mission, if implemented in a holistic fashion, holds the key to curbing not only the problem of diarrhoeal deaths for which India holds the world record, but also malnutrition. However, the World Toilet Summit, which was held in the national capital this year as part of the Mission, was...