-Down to Earth Area under cultivation of millets is declining in spite of national Food Security Mission While the Union government plans to restructure the Food Corporation of India (FCI), agriculture scientists and nutrition experts are recommending that effective millet management should be included in the Public Distribution System (PDS) of the country. The step is important to achieve the food and nutrition security for the small and marginal tribal farming communities,...

-The Business Standard In a country where 35 to 40 per cent of food is not consumed, the government urgently needs to reduce wastage to an acceptable level By current estimates, India's total population will be similar to China's by 2028, 1.45 billion. By 2050, India's population is expected to reach 1.7 billion, which will then be equivalent to nearly that of China and the US combined. A fundamental question then...

-Down to Earth Targeted efforts to make food systems more efficient can also reduce the environmental footprint of agriculture Basic calorie need of 3 billion extra people can be met if food systems are made more efficient through targeted efforts, suggests a new report. What's more, the targeted efforts will also help reduce the environmental footprint of agriculture. The report by researchers from the University of Minnesota, and published in the peer reviewed...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Two super-speciality hospitals in the capital have not admitted any patient but auditors point out that both have already spent crores in maintenance. In 2011-12, Rajiv Gandhi Super-Speciality (RGSS) hospital had spent Rs 4.83 crore out of a budget allocation of Rs 5 crore. The following year, the allocation was increased to Rs 6 crore even though the expenditure on medical treatment remained the same -...

-Economic and Political Weekly     Sustained and focused efforts have to be made by the Tamil Nadu state government to provide relief and rehabilitation to the drought affected people of the state. S Rajendran (myrajendran@gmail.com) is with the Department of Economics, Periyar University, Salem, Tamil Nadu. Due to the failure of the north-east monsoon in December 2013, Tamil Nadu is witnessing drought like conditions this year, leading to poor agricultural productivity, rural distress,...