-The United Nations The Asia-Pacific region, which has overtaken the rest of the world in consumption of raw materials as affluence and manufacturing increase, must boost its resource efficiency or risk losing ground in lifestyle, economic growth and environmental sustainability, according to a UN report released today. From 1970-2008, consumption of construction minerals increased 13.4 times, metal ores and industrial minerals consumption 8.6, fossil fuels 5.4, and biomass 2.7 times, according to...
More »SEARCH RESULT
Sub-Saharan Africa fares well over South Asia on Malnutrition -Rituraj Tiwari
-The Economic Times WASHINGTON: As India gears up to provide food security cover to 67% of its population, a report compiled by Global Development Network says that the challenges to food security and rural livelihood is fast growing not only in India but in entire South Asia. The report says that the problem can be addressed by investment in agriculture and rural livelihoods on a priority basis. "Financial investment in agriculture research...
More »Cottonseed oil rules the kitchens of Gujarat as cheapest cooking oil -Nidhi Nath Srinivas
-The Economic Times The BT cotton revolution, which swept India's countryside, is now doubling up as the source of the country's cheapest cooking oil. And in Narendra Modi's motherland, the Jasubens are loving it. Cottonseed or 'kapasiya' oil is ruling in the kitchens of Gujarat, the largest cotton-growing state. One out of every two bottles of oil consumed in Gujarat contains cottonseed oil. "Earlier, we used around three litres of cottonseed oil...
More »Kisan credit cards buoy rural demand- Dinesh Unnikrishnan
-Live Mint In the two years to March 2012, the number of kisan credit cards grew by 28%, while the outstanding amount grew by 76% So far, the rural job-guarantee scheme, other social programmes by state governments and the raising of minimum support prices to farmers have been cited as reasons for the continued buoyancy in rural consumption and also for inflation in food items. But there could be another insidious...
More »Govt plans law to ensure 22.5% spending on dalits, tribals -Subodh Ghildiyal
-The Times of India The Centre is mulling a law to ensure that 22.5% of the Union Budget is exclusively spent for dalit and tribal welfare, a move seen as an outreach to the Congress support base that is bristling at the party's failure on the flagship demand to restore reservation in promotions. A law on dalit and tribal sub-plans would go beyond the symbolic to bind the government to...
More »