-The Business Standard The Congress party's suggested right to health, if implemented, would be a game-changer This is the season for party manifestos with their vague and quite unexciting promises. But in this sea of platitudes, sometimes something stands out that is worth talking about, because, if implemented, it would be a game-changer. For me this is the reported inclusion of the right to health in the Congress party's manifesto. It is well...

-The Times of India MUMBAI: The issue of farmers' suicide seems to have resurfaced with a vengeance in Maharashtra following the recent bout of unseasonal showers and hailstorms in the state. While sources working closely with the government have said that around 18 farmers have killed themselves between February 22 and March 18, social activists claim the figure could be between 80 and 100 - more than the average for every...

-The United Nations The United Nations agricultural agency today launched a new database which gathers under one roof previously scattered information about land cover - how much land is covered by croplands, trees, forests, or bare soils - crucial to establishing a good global understanding of the physical characteristics of the Earth's surface. "A strong understanding of our planet's land cover is essential to promoting sustainable land resources management - including agricultural...

-The Guardian Rice conservationist Debal Deb grapples with 'mindless Indian elite' to reintroduce genetically diverse, drought-tolerant varieties   Fifty years ago, every Indian village would probably have grown a dozen or more rice varieties that grew nowhere else. Passed down from generation to generation and family to family, there would have been a local variety for every soil and taste - rice that would grow well in droughts or deep floods, which had...

-DNA The food is not up to the mark either, the study conducted by Support for Advocacy and Training to Health Initiatives has found. Mumbai: Nearly 45,000 children in the 0-6 age group die of malnutrition every year in Maharashtra. As a preventive measure, the government spends Rs300 crore yearly to provide kids with "micronutrient-fortified, energy-dense" food under the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS). But the project is a waste of money...