-The Hindu ‘They juggle multiple tasks and are often unable to vent their frustration’ Fifteen people commit suicide every hour in India, shows the most recent data by the National Crime Records Bureau. Of these, around 17 per cent are housewives. In contrast, suicide by farmers makes up only 3 per cent of all suicides. The NCRB divides the total suicides into 10 professional categories — housewife, service (government), service (private), public sector...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: Biochemist Thuppil Venkatesh says he is not surprised by claims of food safety regulators in Uttar Pradesh and Delhi that they have detected lead, a potential toxin to humans, in Maggi noodles. For over a decade, Venkatesh, professor emeritus at St John's Medical College, Bangalore, has been trying to warn the country about what he says are dangerous levels of lead in the environment that may slip into...

-Outlook Bhubaneswar: A day after laying foundation for a new medical college in tribal dominated Mayurbhanj district, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik today said a special scheme will be launched to reduce MMR and IMR in Odisha. "A special initiative for reduction of IMR and MMR in difficult areas of the state will be rolled out with budget of Rs 50 crore annually," Patnaik told reporters after chairing the annual meeting of the...

-The Indian Express Without better quality schooling, attempts to curb child labour can only go so far. The Union cabinet has cleared amendments to the child labour act, introducing stricter penalties on employers, outlawing all work done by children below 14 and banning children from doing any hazardous work — up from an existing list of 18 hazardous industries and processes. However, it makes an exception: children are allowed to help in...

-The Hindu A promising area of change for the better In the last article, we considered the climate impact of India’s love for milk (short summary: not good). This time we will consider another aspect of our food: how we cook it. Most readers of this newspaper will perhaps not have more than the slightest acquaintance with wood-fired stoves. Most of us are still wondering whether or not to voluntarily give up...