-The Telegraph With the funds blocked, I’ve Been unable to pay some suppliers who want to be paid before they supply again, says a scientist Dozens of scientists who had Been invited from positions abroad to join academic institutions across India under a prestigious government fellowship have not received research grants or salaries for months, the fellows and other scientists have said. The delay in the release of funds for the Ramalingaswami Fellowships,...

-The Hindu How is the ethanol blending programme connected to the rice export ban? The story so far: On September 9, the Centre instituted a ban on the export of broken rice. Additionally, it mandated an export duty of 20% on rice in husk (paddy or rough), husked (brown rice) and semi-milled or wholly-milled rice. The measures do not affect export of basmati or parboiled rice. The Secretary at the Department of...

-ThePrint.in The intense industrial processes used to produce ultra-processed foods destroy the natural structure of the ingredients and strip away many beneficial nutrients. * In some countries, ultra-processed foods now account for 50% or more calories consumed. * Two new studies have shown that poor nutrition may not be enough to explain health risks. * Some researchers have theorized that ultra-processed foods increase inflammation. * Ingredients such as emulsifiers, thickeners, protein isolates, and other industrial-sounding...

-The Hindu Q1 surge in private consumption not just a function of pent-up demand but also rising employment levels, it says Demand for work under the national rural employment guarantee scheme hit a two-year low in August, signalling that the recovering economy is creating more jobs in rural as well as urban India, the Union Finance Ministry said on Saturday.    India’s inflation, the Ministry said, is “in control” and expected to moderate...

-Hindustan Times Haryana currently has 10 power projects that use paddy straw to generate around 84MW electricity. Besides, there are two paddy straw-based biomass power projects in Kurukshetra and Kaithal, owned by Haryana Renewable Energy Development Agency (HAREDA), that consume 3.5 lakh MT of crop waste and generate 15 MW electricity each. Karnal: With around 35 lakh metric tonnes (MT) of paddy crop residue generated every year, Haryana faces a mammoth task...