-The Economic Times   India's grain bins are overflowing and the forecast for a normal monsoon promises another bumper crop, but political disagreement over a bill to secure food rights for the poor means the country is expected to steer clear of large-scale exports. Shipments from the world's second-biggest producer of wheat, sugar and rice could come as a relief for governments across Asia who are trying to combat food-led inflation,...

The health and women & child development ministries have refused to give an affidavit to the Supreme Court on how many children die of hunger in India every year. UNICEF says 50% of all the deaths of children aged below five years are from malnutrition. That works out to 2,438 children dying every day for lack of food. But no one in the government is ready to stick its neck out...

India's grain bins are overflowing and the forecast for a normal monsoon promises another bumper crop, but political disagreement over a bill to secure food rights for the poor means the country is expected to steer clear of large-scale exports. Shipments from the world's second-biggest producer of wheat, sugar and rice could come as a relief for governments across Asia who are trying to combat food-led inflation, but India needs to...

The state government has switched to funding water conservation and harvesting projects through the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employee Guarantee Act (MNREGA). In the fiscal 2010-11, water conservation projects guzzled maximum funds released under the MNREGA with the government deciding to channel more than 40 per cent of the total funds into water harvesting, restoration of traditional water baoris and de-silting of water bodies like ponds and lakes. Funds were channelled...

The battle against poverty and inequity can be won only if governments focus on the welfare of adolescents, says a UNICEF report. FINALLY, it has been recognised that adolescents constitute a very critical category in the overall battle against poverty and inequity. It is for this reason that the United Nations Children's Fund's (UNICEF) flagship report, “The State of the World's Children 2011”, focusses exclusively on adolescents and cautions against neglecting...