Global megatrends such as income inequality, climate change, demographic shifts, technological progress, and urbanisation are shaping the future of societies. Yet, their quantitative impacts on development
Chandigarh: At 90 cancer patients for every one lakh population, Punjab has a higher cancer rate than the country’s. The Malwa region in that state has the highest average of 136 cancer patients per 1 lakh people, according to a Punjab government study released on Monday. The national average is 80 cancer cases per lakh population. Data over the past five years show that on an average, 18 people die of cancer each day. There are 23,874 cancer patients in Punjab with 33,318 cancer-related deaths in last five years.
Confirming Punjab government's worst fears, a door-to-door survey of the health department — covering almost 98 per cent of the state's population — has found that the incidence of cancer is higher than national and international average. When compared to World Health Organisartion's point of reference — 80 affected among a population of one lakh — Punjab's survey discovered that 90 in a population of one lakh were suffering from cancer.
Rural families in low income states such as Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal depend far less on ration shops for wheat and rice than the national average. In Bihar, less than 12 per cent of the rural
Grid-based solar power only reaches only households that are connected to energy supply, and simply subsidises costly solar for an already-reached population India’s solar power policy is now entering round two. Much needs to be reviewed and reworked, since the business of solar energy has seen massive turbulence in India as well as globally. In the first phase (2010 to 2013) of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM), the target was to set up 1,000-2,000 MW of grid-based solar power in the country. By 2013, the country has indeed commissioned some 1,000 MW of solar power, but 700 MW of this target comes from a non-JNNSM state, Gujarat.
CUTTACK: To improve the economic condition of farmers, the district administration has been encouraging them take up soyabean cultivation. And the efforts have yielded desired results with 300 farmers cultivating soyabean in 550 acre in the district. District agriculture officers claim soyabean cultivation ensures lucrative returns with less input for the farmers. . "A farmer has to spend only Rs 500 per acre while the government provides them seeds and fertilizers worth Rs 3,500 to boost oil seed farming," said an agriculture officer.
Kochi: Almost half of the Kochi population is overweight, reveals a 11-city survey on obesity-related trends, putting the city on top of the list. The AC Nielsen survey conducted for a medical company found 46% of the people in the city above their ideal weight, out of which 13% were found to be obese and 7% morbidly obese. The prevalence of obesity is equally high among men and women (20%) and it is well above the rate in the other cities where it is 8% for men and 11% for women. Morbid obesity was also found to be the highest in Kochi. Delhi, Ludhiana, Jaipur, Mumbai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Nagpur, Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad were the other cities surveyed.
The move to ease diversion of forest land for industrial use by the Prime Minister’s Office faces further delay as the ministries of tribal affairs and environment want more time for consultations. A panel headed by principal secretary to the prime minister, Pulok Chatterjee, had decided to dilute the requirement of taking consent from the affected tribal population before diverting forest land. The committee, which submitted its report on December 12, included top officials from tribal affairs and environment ministries. The recommendations for all practical purposes allow the forest clearance process to bypass the gram sabhas, or village assemblies, which are the basic units for the implementation of the Forest Rights Act.
Bill Will Be Reintroduced In Parliament In Budget Session, Says MoS K V Thomas Kochi: The Centre is in broad agreement with the suggestions of the parliamentary panel on food, which has just submitted its report on the much-debated food security bill, said minister of state for food and civil supplies K V Thomas. “The panel has come up with a near unanimous report, barring a dissent from the CPM member. Many of the suggestions made by the panel were already there in the ‘plan B’, being considered by the government to proceed with the bill,” the minister told TOI here.
New Delhi: Says direct cash transfer in lieu of grain currently not desirable A Parliamentary panel on the food security Bill has suggested providing legal entitlement of 5 kg of heavily-subsidised grain to each beneficiary per month, which would cover 67% of the country's population. The Standing Committee on Food, Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution, headed by Vilas Muttemwar, also said the direct cash transfer in lieu of grain entitlements at this juncture may not be desirable, suggesting that banking infrastructure and accessibility to banking facility need to be made available throughout India before introducing the cash transfer.
Recommends 5 kg of foodgrains, down from the earlier 7 kg A day before the Congress’s ‘Chintan Shivir’, a Parliament Standing Committee on Thursday presented the much-awaited report on the Food Security Bill, giving legal entitlement of uniform five kg of foodgrains to 75 per cent of the country’s rural population and 50 per cent of the urban population without any distinction. The grains will be distributed at a flat rate of Rs 3 per kg for rice, Rs 2 for wheat and Rs 1 per kg for coarse cereals.
