-The Week A revolutionary farming system is working wonders in Nalanda district Nalanda: If not for an agricultural technique known as SRI (system of rice intensification), Sumant Kumar of Darveshpura in Bihar's Nalanda district would have remained a faceless farmer. In 2012, with the help of the state agriculture department, he tried out SRI on an acre that usually bore only modest yields. It worked, and Sumant got a bumper harvest. An...
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Naxalite-affected areas to have community radios -Himanshi Dhawan
-The Times of India NEW DELHI: For the first time, community radio stations will come up in Naxalite-affected areas in the country. In a significant shift in policy, the government has given the nod for nine CR stations in Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand. The first one is likely to come up in Bastar in Chhattisgarh. The CR stations that have received permission include one each in Ambikapur and Bilaspur and two in Raipur,...
More »Maternal mortality rate drops by 20% in Bengal
-PTI The maternal mortality rate in West Bengal has dropped sharply by 20% due to health reforms in the state, latest statistics say. Quoting a latest survey report prepared by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who also holds the health portfolio, told PTI that the maternal mortality rate (MMR) rate has fallen to 117 per 1 lakh childbirths during 2010-12. The figure during the...
More »Decoding section 377: How the verdict erased basic human rights -Poulomi Banerjee
-The Hindustan Times On 16 December, D, 25, a Kolkata resident, was returning home, from the fashion boutique he owns, when some people on the street threw eggs at him. A day or two earlier, a group of approximately seven men from the neighbourhood had blocked his way, demanding to know how much they would have to pay him in return for sexual favours. He was also groped on the street....
More »Gay sex law raises mental health fears -GS Mudur
-The Telegraph The 153-year-old law that criminalises gay sex is likely contributing to hidden depression and possibly even substance abuse among homosexuals, mental health professionals campaigning for its repeal have said. The experts have said the Supreme Court's ruling earlier this week re-criminalising gay sex could lead to a surge in depression levels across the community. They have cited international studies that point to higher levels of mental health problems among gay...
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