-The Financial Express To deal with the possibility of a deficit monsoon, the agriculture ministry has suggested sowing of short- duration varieties of paddy, pulses, oilseeds and other less water-intensive crops in the northern India regions for curbing possible crop losses. In its first advisory for the northern Indian region, Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), a premier institute under the ministry of agriculture, has suggested transplanting of short duration paddy varieties of...

-The Indian Express There is no alternative to boosting domestic production, farmers desperately need the incentive, and the country could do with saving on urea. Pulses are once again on the boil, with consumers paying around 50 per cent more for tur (pigeon pea) and urad (black gram) dal than they did a year ago. Even chana (chick pea), which had turned cheaper in the past three years, has seen a 40...

-HarvestPlus.org Washington DC: A new study has found that pearl millet bred to be richer in iron was able to reverse iron deficiency in school-aged Indian children in six months. In just four months, iron levels improved significantly. Previously, the same iron-rich pearl millet had been shown to provide iron-deficient Indian children under the age of three with enough iron to meet their daily needs, and adult women in Benin with more...

-Livemint.com A strong El Nino will roil economies that are heavily dependent on agriculture, particularly India Singapore: In 2009, the El Nino brought the worst drought in four decades to India. It razed wheat fields in Australia and damaged crops across Asia. Food prices surged. A closely watched forecast by Japan on Tuesday confirmed its return this year. A strong El Nino will roil economies that are heavily dependent on agriculture, particularly...

Due to the annual decline in under-5 mortality rate by almost 7% during 2008-13, the Government is hopeful of India attaining the target 5 of Millennium Development Goal-4 i.e. reduce by two-thirds, between 1990 and 2015, the U5MR. This has been revealed in a press release on checking child mortality rate by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, dated 28 April, 2015.   However, experts think that this will be...