-The Hindu State Budget takes aim at ‘junk food’ sold in branded outlets to promote healthy eating. THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala announced a 14.5 per cent “fat tax” on pizzas, burgers, sandwiches and tacos sold through branded outlets on Friday, in sync with the World Health Organization’s advocacy of using fiscal tools to promote healthy eating. Finance Minister T.M. Thomas Isaac might have upset some youth with his move, but doctors and several parents are...

-The Hindu While the economy’s revival is still a work in progress, higher food prices, especially of pulses, are affecting nutritional intake across India. The government is counting on a good monsoon season to spur growth and cool down the prices of essential food items. Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das said on Thursday that the government’s move to raise the minimum support price for pulses is expected to help push up...

-Hindustan Times Soon, colleges across Bengal will have separate toilets for transgender students. Kolkata: As a step towards addressing the concerns of the transgender community and helping them earn social acceptance, the coordination committee for West Bengal Transgender Development Board, formed by the Mamata government, had recommended setting up separate toilets or modifying existing ones for these students at all the state-run and the state-aided colleges. Following the recommendation, the state higher...

-The Hindu ISRO-led study analysed satellite imageries of the country over an eight-year period Bengaluru: Nearly 30 per cent per cent of the country’s total geographical area is undergoing degradation, according to a study that analysed satellite imageries of the country over an eight-year period. The degrading area has increased over 0.5 per cent to 29.3 million hectares during the period, as shown by comparative remote-sensing satellite imageries of the States for the...

-The Hindu As cereal consumption comes down despite higher output, India needs to ramp up production of pulses to meet the nutritional requirements of the population. Since the onset of the Green Revolution in the late 1960s, India has been treading on a path towards self-sufficiency in food. The achievements have remained highly skewed towards wheat and rice on account of technological as well as policy support towards these two crops. With...