-The Hindu THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Much of the drop in yield came from air pollution caused by fine particles like soot as well as ozone generated by sunlight acting on emissions of precursor molecules. India's Food grain production is facing a double whammy, with heightened air pollution adding to the impact of climate change on crop yields, according to a recent study. "Our statistical model suggests that, averaged over India, yields in 2010 were up...

-IANS Kolkata: Climate change is causing toxic metals trapped in the sediment beds of the Hooghly estuary in the Indian Sunderbans to leach out into the water system due to changes in ocean chemistry, say scientists, warning of potential human health hazards. They predict that after about 30 years, increasing ocean acidification - another dark side of spiked atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide - could in fact unlock the entire stock of...

-The Hindu Business Line Output data is unreliable, which leaves us unprepared for shortages. And, farming practices are primitive The price of potatoes is once again moving up, largely due to the demand-supply gap in the market-place. The National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (Nafed) that was asked by the Ministry of Civil Supplies to explore the possibility of importing potatoes from Russia, China and Egypt, procured 3,500 tonnes of potatoes...

-The Hindu Business Line Commerce Ministry officials to meet PM today for consent on negotiating stand With the US softening its position on India's Food security concerns at the World Trade Organisation (WTO), the Prime Minister's Office will now take a final call on what could be an "acceptable" solution for India on the issue. Top officials from the Commerce Ministry are scheduled to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday to finalise...

-Down to Earth Letter to Modi says Indian government should be wary of higher IP standards that are typically demanded by the US administration and its trade negotiators in bilateral negotiations People's organisations have urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to make public the specific purpose of the Indo-US joint working group on Intellectual Property (IP) and pursue inclusive public consultations approach for the formulation of country's IP policy. The demand follows Modi's...