-PTI Director of CUTS International, George Cheriyan said that the consumption of chemical fertilisers in the country has been increasing along with level of agriculture production. Just 19 per cent farmers are practicing organic farming in Rajasthan even as 91 per cent were aware of the ill-effects of chemical farming, a survey has revealed. The fact came to the fore in a baseline survey conducted by CUTS International among 1,795 consumers,  644 farmers...

-TheWire.in Any reference to the term “slaughter” will be removed in the new version of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Regulation of Livestock Market) Rules, 2017. New Delhi: Less than a year after the Centre banned the sale and purchase of ‘cattle’ from animal markets for slaughter, thus depriving farmers of any resale value for their cattle and leading to a spike in cow vigilantism, the Modi government has decided to...

-Down to Earth Going by a recent study on malnutrition in children in 10 Indian cities, parental bias for boys could be pushing them closer to junk food In India, it is generally believed girls are disempowered, that also affects their health. And, there are statistics to show their plight. The National Family Health Survey (NFHS) of 2016 shows around 55 per cent women are anaemic while just about half of them,...

-TheWire.in A new UN study also notes that the intersection of gender with other forms of discrimination – caste, race/ethnicity, religion etc – is what further marginalises women and girls from poor and deprived sections of the society. New Delhi: Not only are women poorer, more hungry and more discriminated against than men in India, but the average Dalit woman in the country also dies 14.6 years younger than those from higher...

-TheWire.in The making of the Union Budget has been a far too secretive and hidden exercise. Social sector expenditure and allocations related to policy announcements should be matters of open ongoing debate. On December 20, 2017, a group of 60 eminent economists sent an open letter to the finance minister stating: “We are writing to draw your attention to two urgent priorities for the forthcoming budget.” The first was to increase the central...