-The Financial Express On December 21, 2013, the General Assembly of the United Nations voted to proclaim 2016 as the International Year of Pulses (IYP). On December 21, 2013, the General Assembly of the United Nations voted to proclaim 2016 as the International Year of Pulses (IYP). It followed unanimous votes in favour of declaring IYP 2016 by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in April and June 2013. An International...

-The Hindu Panel set up by Environment Ministry to take a call on GM mustard. Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar has said the use of genetically modified (GM) technology for seeds is important for improving agricultural productivity and food security. He said 18 field trials, testing various kinds of GM seeds, were under way but the government would take a considered view on releasing genetically modified mustard. GM mustard, likely to be the first...

-The Hindu States asked to exempt pulses from Value Added Tax and other local levies to control prices The government is considering banning futures trading in chana dal (brown chickpeas) and reducing import duty on sugar as part of its efforts to rein in inflation, according to a top official. Higher food prices, led by pulses and sugar, pushed wholesale price inflation into positive territory in April after 17 months of decline while...

-The Telegraph Guwahati: Arunachal Pradesh has the highest number of liver cancer patients in the country and the second highest stomach cancer cases in the world after China, a nationwide cancer-tracking programme conducted by the Indian Council of Medical Research has found. The latest report on the country's cancer scene, based on data available with the council's population-based cancer registries (PBCR), also shows that Aizawl in Mizoram has the highest incidence of...

-The Hindu Business Line Six districts in AP and Telangana tell the story of nutrition and gender bias Consider two sets of appalling nutrition-linked realities in India. One, almost half the children under five years of age are stunted and two, most Indian girls and women are generally anaemic. Given India’s poverty level, the stunting is not surprising. Anaemia among girls and women is also linked to cultural issues. Across the country, boys...