-Down to Earth Forced maturity in plants due to higher temperatures can result in smaller seeds A comparatively 'warm' winter in Bihar this year could harm production of rabi crops like wheat, oil seed and pulses, agricultural scientists have predicted. According to experts, production of winter crops may be hit by at least 30-40 per cent if the weather in the eastern state is unchanged for long. The minimum temperature should be 10-12 degrees...

-Down to Earth Stunting among children below five did not improve at all; child obesity increased across several states Chronic malnutrition or stunting among children below five years did not improve at all while acute undernourishment or wasting worsened in the last half-a-decade in a majority of the surveyed states and Union territories (UT), according to the latest round of National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5). Child obesity also increased in several states. The...

-Down to Earth Said will facilitate talks before committee set up by the court The Supreme Court January 11, 2021 slammed the Narendra Modi government’s handling of protests by farmers over the recent agriculture-related laws. It called for a committee and said if the government doesn’t stays the three laws, the apex court would A three-member bench headed by Chief Justice SA Bobde said that it was disappointed with the way the government...

-Down to Earth Daman and Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Andhra Pradesh had the lowest consumption of iodized salt in the country Deficiency of iodine is the one of the greatest reasons for mental health problems. Iodine, a metallic trace element, is an important component of thyroid hormones. It is needed for optimal mental and physical development and the regulation of body metabolism through the generation and utilisation of body energy. The...

-Down to Earth Northern plains region in India and Pakistan most impacted, meeting India’s air quality standard would have reduced loss by 7 per cent Pregnant women in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh exposed to poor-quality air may be at higher risk of stillbirths and miscarriages, according to a study published in the Lancet Planetary Health journal January 6 2020. Some 349,681 pregnancies were lost every year in these three South Asian countries due...