-TheWire.in * A position paper drafted by a group of experts under the National Education Policy 2020 advances a misguided idea of nutrition couched in the language of nationalism. * The paper recommends that meat and eggs be removed from midday meals and from children’s lessons, but on unscientific grounds and through statements devoid of evidence. * The paper also uses conflates wildly different – and potentially dangerous – terms like “gene-diet interactions”,...

-The Hindu Although both men and women have knowledge of various modern contraceptive methods, NFHS-5 data show that women continue to bear the burden of family Planning Awareness of family Planning and contraception among Indians is widespread, with over 99% of married men and women between the ages of 15-49 knowing at least one contraceptive method. Still, not all women find their family Planning needs being met. While there are many reasons...

-The Hindu Farmer outfits in Punjab say they will be forced to start an agitation against the State AAP government if a complete farm loan debt waiver is not announced shortly A recent study on farmers’ suicide in Punjab by Ludhiana-based Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) has revealed that in six districts of the State, as many as 9,291 farmers have died by suicide between the years 2000-2018 and around 88% of the...

-The Telegraph We have raised concerns to Government of India that this seems to really go beyond simply random acts of violence: Balakrishnan Rajagopal Before the latest punitive demolition by the Uttar Pradesh government in Allahabad this month, three United Nations special rapporteurs had written to the Centre criticising similar actions targeting Muslims after communal clashes in Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Delhi. This was confirmed by one of the special rapporteurs, Balakrishnan Rajagopal...

-The Hindu The delay in household consumption expenditure survey leaves us unsure of the studies A noticeable absence in the blitzkrieg of information on the economy periodically unleashed by the Union government over the past few years has been estimates of poverty. A measure of the progress made with respect to the reduction of poverty in India is crucial to an assessment of the state of the economy of India, known to...