Spiralling prices of pulses have shown India’s dependence on imports. Pulses are integral to India’s diet but not its food policy. As a result, supply cannot meet demand. What are the consequences and solutions? Surendra Nath has switched to eating grass-pea, though he knows it is not good for health. But so is tobacco, he argues. He cannot do without pulses and pigeon-pea selling at Rs 100 a kg is beyond...
More »SEARCH RESULT
That Healthy Feeling by SL Rao
Monica Das Gupta is a senior social scientist at the World Bank. Her field research in Punjab, when she was at the National Council of Applied Economic Research, established that sex differentials in child mortality in rural Punjab persisted despite relative wealth, socio-economic development including rapid universalization of female education, fertility decline, and mortality decline. Amartya Sen’s writings drew attention to female foeticide and infanticide in Asia that led to...
More »Poverty, beyond calories by Savvy Soumya Misra
New method finds India is 9 per cent poorer india is poorer than previously estimated. A revised estimation of poverty for 2004-05 using new methodology showed the number of people below the poverty line was 37.2 per cent and not 28.3 per cent, as estimated earlier. The new estimate took into account expenditure on food, basic health and education, unlike the earlier estimation based on per capita calorie consumption. The inclusions...
More »IMD evolving a model for accurate climate forecast by P Venugopal
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: With the problem of climate change now turning into an increasing reality, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) is working on the development of a model that can forecast the subtleties of the phenomenon with a fair degree of accuracy into the next five or 10 years, according to Secretary to the Ministry of Earth Sciences Shailesh Naik. Addressing a session on ‘Science Programme for the Country,’at the 97th Indian...
More »ICMR to form expert group to study chikungunya-type fever by Shastry V. Mallady
MADURAI: The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) will study fever cases with chikungunya symptoms reported in various districts of Tamil Nadu. An expert group will be formed soon to find out the root cause of this fever, which results in joint pains and cripples the victims’ physical activity. V. M. Katoch, Director General, ICMR, told The Hindu here that he would talk to State public health officials and obtain data...
More »