Think India Foundation

Plan for Biogas Plants at State Institutions in Chandigarh, India

Chandigarh is a city and union territory in India that serves as the capital of two states, Punjab and Haryana is to implement a Master Plan that will see the construction of a large number of food waste to biogas facilities.

Image Credit: Shutterstock/Rufous

According to a report in The Times of India, the plan calls for most of the city's hotels and a number of government buildings including college campuses, medical research centres and a hospital will generate their own energy through biogas plants. Read more

Source : waste-management-world.com

Quiznos debuts in North India with the launch of its first outlet in Delhi

America’s premium sub brand, Quiznos, entered North India with the launch of its first outlet in Delhi. With this launch, the company has initiated its expansion plans of opening over 150 outlets across North and West India within the next five years.

Quiznos has entered into a master franchise agreement with Delhi based restaurant management company Sub-One Hospitality Services Pvt. Ltd. to open outlets across states like Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Delhi/NCR, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. Read more

Source : imagesfood.com

Centre to adopt ‘true blue’ poor of Badals, not all

Chandigarh Food Security Bill: Punjab’s 66% population in, 34% out

With both the incumbent government and Opposition Congress promising to take the state’s populist blue card scheme of subsidised atta-dal to another level despite empty coffers, the upcoming Food Security Act may force a rethink.

While it will bring down Punjab’s subsidy burden by taking the tally of Centre’s poor up, it will benefit only those the ongoing economic census identifies as poor. So, many of the “undeserving” beneficiaries enjoying largesse of the Parkash Singh Badal government may have to depend on the new regime to adopt them as its own. Read more

Source : expressindia.com

Now, an ''App'' to locate where to Pee!

New Delhi : Six teams of IT experts and professors supported by the Water and Sanitation Program presented mobile applications or ‘Apps’ that can help support consumers and governments surmounting the water and sanitation problems in India. The event took place at Vigyan Bhawan on Tuesday.

The prototypes were presented to private firms such as Nokia, Vodafone and Accenture. Read more

Source : expressindia.com

Seeding a policy without the dirt on climate change

ICAR says knowledge of climate change impact in India is 'fragmentary'

Genetics mode: Researchers working with transgenic groundnut plants engineered for drought resistance at the glasshouse facility of the Genetic Transformation Lab at ICRISAT in Hyderabad. Photo: K. Gajendran

A recent international conference on climate change and sustainable agriculture in New Delhi brought forth the shocking realisation that there are no conclusive studies in India on the prospective impact of climate change on the agriculture sector including livestock and fisheries.

Much of the country's understanding comes from global data provided by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the World Meteorological Organisation and other world bodies. Read more

Source : thehindu.com

International food industry innovates to suit Indian platter

International players in the food industry continue to innovate, by adding local ingredients and flavours in order to entice Indian foodies, who are yet to fully embrace global cuisine in its original form.

"We (India and Singapore) share our food. Am absolutely fascinated by the Indian cabbage and spices and we are now experimenting with spices and ingredients available in other countries, hence, sharing the cuisine," says Chef Benjamin Seck of Singapore based True Blue Cuisine restaurant who was here on a short visit. Read more

Source : daily.bhaskar.com

Border areas need to be developed: Antony

ITANAGAR – The Centre is aware of the challenges faced by the people living in the border areas and the government is according topmost priority to infrastructure development in these areas, said Union Defence Minister AK Antony while speaking during the silver jubilee celebrations of Arunachal Pradesh Staehood Day here today.

In his speech, Antony admitted that Arunachal Pradesh is a strategically important State with hilly terrains, which has been facing serious challenges from outside the country. Showering praise on the people of Arunachal for their patriotic spirit and love for the nation, the Defence Minister said, “Arunachal Pradesh is in the heart of the people of our country. In the path of development, peace and prosperity, the whole nation is with Arunachal Pradesh.” Read more

Source : assamtribune.com

Chronic malnutrition puts almost half a billion children at risk

Westport - Chronic malnutrition, a deadly and widespread crisis largely overlooked in the face of food scarcity, currently impacts one in four children across the globe and places almost half a billion children at risk of permanent damage within the next 15 years.

A new report by Save the Children, A Life Free from Hunger: Tackling Child Malnutrition (pdf), reveals chronic malnutrition, the lack of proper nutrition over time, if far more extensive than short-term acute malnutrition frequently associated with food crises. Read more

Source : digitaljournal.com

Improve fiscal governance for service delivery

OneWorld South Asia 

In an exclusive opinion piece, Rajesh Tandon, President, Society for Participatory Research in Asia (PRIA) has appealed to the Union Government for improved and better implementation of policies and Centrally-sponsored schemes in its Budget 2012. He focuses on high inflation that is reducing the nutritional intake of the poor; improving the infrastructure of small and medium sized towns and cities; and problems faced by NGOs after amendments were made to Section 2(15) of the IT Act, 1961.

Persistently high inflation during the past year has caused severe hardships to many households which are living below or close to the poverty line. This issue was discussed in consultations last year. The pattern of food production is shifting in a manner that high nutrition, low cost food supply is stagnating or declining. The likely fall of production of pulses will further increase the risk of malnutrition in poor households. During the year, milk prices have increased nearly 50 per cent, further resulting in lower consumption of nutritional foods by poor households. Read more

Source : zeenews.india.com

'12th Plan must give special emphasis on agriculture'

Bhubaneswar (PTI) : Advocating a separate budget for agriculture in Odisha during the 12th five-year plan, a noted agricultural economist has said it would enable the state to achieve more than four per cent growth in the farm sector by giving special thrust and removing hurdles.

"Since Odisha'’s economic growth is over 9 per cent, higher than national average, there should be a separate budget for agriculture during 12th Plan period (2012-2017) to transfer the benefits of high growth to rural poor," said Dibakar Naik, Professor in Agriculture Economics in Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT) here. Read more

Source : ibnlive.in.com

India short on protein diet

I understand every person requires 2,400 kilocalories per day to sustain himself. In that case, is 250 million tonnes foodgrains production enough to feed the entire 1.2 billion population?

It is an old debate that one requires 2,400 kilocalories. If you go by 2,400 to 2,500 kilocalories requirement, India has to be importing 100 million tonnes of foodgrains every year. But, the fact is the current foodgrains production is not being consumed. Read more

Source : mydigitalfc.com

Fussy eating, junk food take toll on urban children

Bangalore : Is your child getting the right nutrition? .

Over 80% of these mothers worry about their children’s nutritional requirements and believe that fussy eating behaviour impacted their children’s overall performance in school.

“Fussy eating is largely prevalent in the developmental stage. It usually begins sometime in the toddler years when children develop selective eating habits and throw temper tantrums. Fussy eating hampers physical growth—both in terms of height and weight,” said Rehan Khan, managing director, Abbott Nutrition, India. Read more

Source : dnaindia.com

India’s consumer spending will soar to $3.6 trillion

NEW DELHI: India's consumer spending is likely to expand nearly four times to $3.6 trillion by 2020, fuelled by economic growth and rising household incomes, a new study said Thursday. 

Consumer expenditure in India is set to increase 3.6 times from $991 billion in 2010, at an annual rate of 14 percent, the Boston Consulting Group and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) report said. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Delhi per capita income tops in India

New Delhi : In reflection of growing economic prosperity, the Delhiites' per capita income of Rs 1.16 lakh in 2009-10 is highest in the country.

The monthly per capita expenditure (MPCE) of Delhiites living in urban areas has increased from Rs 2,078 in 2008 to Rs 2,905 in 2010, which is also highest in the country. Read more

Source : expressindia.com

Spotlight on modern agri strategies, findings

ALLAHABAD: The two day 14th Indian agricultural scientists and Farmer's Congress would be held in the city from January 18. Being organised under the joint-auspices of Bioved research institute of agriculture and technology and Vigyan Prasar, Department of Science and Technology (DST), the congress would discuss the topic of diversification in agriculture agripreneurship.

Detailing on the congress, the director of Bioved, Dr Brijesh K Dwivedi said that the congress intends to disperse the modern agricultural strategies and research findings among the farmers to enrich agriculture, the backbone of the country. The life, living and culture of the people of the country depend largely on agriculture. Now a days diversification of agriculture has become a key word for the policy makers and planners for strengthening the agricultural sector as a whole and members of farming community in-particular. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

In wasting children, a richer India sees "national shame"

(Reuters) - Crying as she is put on an electronic scale, two-year-old Rajini's naked shrivelled frame casts a dark shadow over a rising India, where millions of children have little to eat.

Severely malnourished two-year-old girl Rajni is weighed by health workers at the Nutritional Rehabilitation Centre of Shivpuri district,Madhya Pradesh 

The children are scrawny, listless and sick in this run-down nutrition clinic in Madhya Pradesh with its intermittent power supply. If they survive they will grow up shorter, weaker and less smart than their better-fed peers. Read more

Source : in.reuters.com

Govt may unveil food security bill in upcoming budget

New Delhi : The government is likely to account for the National Food Security Bill in the upcoming general budget for 2012-13, food minister KV Thomas told HT — a move that will set the ball rolling on the much-anticipated welfare legislation of the ruling coalition.

According to financial projections, India's expenses on food handouts will likely rise by 2.2%, much lower than analysts have projected, Thomas said. Read more

Source : hindustantimes.com

24 percent Indian kids go hungry daily: Survey

New Delhi : Nearly 30 percent of Indian families have been forced to cut back on food due to rising prices, while around a quarter of kids go without food the whole day, according to an NGO. A study on food inflation and its impact on eating habits, conducted by Save the Children, was conducted in five countries.

"It is shocking that parents are telling that they cannot buy food for their children because of high prices. This is destructive for the child's development as malnutrition is fatal and contributes to child mortality," Jasmine Whitbread, Save the Children International CEO, told IANS. Read more

Source : dailypioneer.com

Rising pollution takes a toll on kids’ health in Jaipur

JAIPUR: Being born in a big city is always considered a privilege given the access to good schooling, exposure to high standards of living, all of which go into making children confident and ready to take on the world. 

However, there's a flip side to it as well. High levels of pollution, increasing peer pressure and binging on fast food are some of the few unpleasant factors associated with a city life. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

It will not stop at Rs 60,000 crore

How economically sustainable is food subsidy? The cost could even be double of what the government estimates

Food deprivation and malnutrition are completely unacceptable and everything has to be done to eliminate such an evil. The prevalence of malnutrition in a country like India is in itself a cause for serious concern since malnourished children may jeopardise India’s favourable demographic dividend (as per independent estimates, close to 60 per cent of India’s population is in the age group of 15-59 years). However, the question is whether we can afford to have a food subsidy bill (FSB) and if such an endeavour is economically sustainable. This paper tries to argue that the fiscal viability of the proposed FSB is not clear and the delivery outcomes could be highly compromised given the governance weaknesses and ineffective delivery mechanisms in place. Read more

Source : indianexpress.com

Yamuna veggies toxic: Study

New Delhi: The next time you stop along the Yamuna to buy those fresh leafy vegetables, think twice. A study carried out by The Energy Research Institute (TERI) has found that the continuous dumping of untreated industrial effluent and sewage into the river has contaminated the riverbed soil, and several vegetables, specifically the green leafy ones, contain high levels of toxic metals. 

The report, titled 'Living in a cleaner environment in India: A strategic analysis and assessment', says that levels of nickel, manganese and lead in Yamuna's water were found to be higher than the international aquatic water quality criteria for fresh water. Meena Sehgal, a consultant with TERI who worked extensively on the report, says that their focus was on heavy metals found in the environment and through what means they enter the human body. "Our findings made it clear that it is essentially green leafy vegetables that contain the highest amount of metals. This is because such vegetables have a high tendency to accumulate metals. Levels were significantly lower in other vegetables and practically negligible in drinking water samples," she said. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

UN: Soil erosion increasing global warming threat

Global warming will get worse as agricultural methods accelerate the rate of soil erosion, which depletes the amount of carbon the soil is able to store, a United Nations' Environment Programme report said today.

Soil contains huge quantities of carbon in the form of organic matter which provides nutrients for plant growth and improves soil fertility and water movement.

The top metre of soil alone stores around 2,200 billion tonnes of carbon, which is three times the level currently held in the atmosphere, said the UNEP Year Book 2012. Read more

Source : buenosairesherald.com

Soapy milk, toxic apples: India's sour food safety record

Before dawn every day he joins hundreds of wholesale traders at Delhi's Azadpur Mandi, a sprawling, chaotic market where trucks blare Bollywood music, porters haul huge brown sacks of fruit and vegetables and hawkers ply tea and cigarettes.

His own trade is in rosy red apples, laced with calcium carbide.

Bhim says he's been adding chemicals to his apples for years to artificially ripen them after a long journey from the Himalayan foothills, despite being told that it causes cancer. Read more

Source : reuters.com

Minimum wages to be linked to prices of some essential items

NEW DELHI: The government will take up a 55-year-old proposal to link minimum wages to prices of food, clothing, fuel and housing. 

The Indian Labour Conference, a meeting of the government, employers and employees, had in 1957 suggested setting a wage floor based on a minimum food requirement of 2,700 calories per adult, clothing requirement of 72 yards per annum per family, rent corresponding to the government's industrial housing scheme and expenditure on fuel, lighting and miscellaneous items. Read more

Source : economictimes.indiatimes.com

JK seeks addl 16500 MT foodgrains under PDS

New Delhi : Minister for Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution, Qamar Ali Akhoon has strongly pleaded for additional 16500 MT foodgrains to the state on the “Central Issue Prices” to cover the entire population enumerated in the 2011 census.

The Minister was addressing a 2-days conference of Food Ministers and Food Secretaries of States the other day, an official statement today said. Read more

Source : greaterkashmir.com

Milk or egg for malnourished children of Bangalore soon

BANGALORE : If the State Government's proposal comes to fruition, then over 71,000 severely malnourished children in the State will be given either milk or egg to make up for the imbalance in nutrition.

“We cannot provide egg or milk in the existing budget of Rs. 4 per child in the ICDS (Integrated Child Development Scheme). Hence, we shall provide the severely malnourished children with additional nutrients under a separate scheme,” said Ramesh Bindurao Zalki, Principal Secretary to Government of Karnataka, Department of Women and Child Development (DWCD). Read more

Source : thehindu.com

GPS, dedicated rail lines to update PDS: minister

Thomas said Kerala, West Bengal and Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) had spoken against the Bill, adding that the parliamentary standing committee examining the draft Bill and the food ministry will discuss the issues

New Delhi: Special vehicles, dedicated rail lines, global positioning systems, new silos and biometric identification are a part of the revamp of the public distribution system (PDS), minister for consumer affairs and food and public distribution K.V. Thomas said on Thursday, a day after agriculture minister Sharad Pawar said the National Food Security Bill can’t be implemented given the dire state of the network. 

“Almost all the states have taken action to modernize the PDS system, either by computerization or Aadhaar and this has given results,” Thomas told reporters, referring to a two-day meeting of state food ministers that ended on Thursday. “States have also raised certain issues connected with the Food Security Bill.” Aadhaar refers to the government’s unique identity programme that’s aimed, among other things, at ensuring that benefits reach the right people. Read more

Source : livemint.com

TMC to confront govt on food bill

NEW DELHI, DHNS : After forcing the United Progressive Alliance government to defer opening up of the retail sector for foreign investments, Mamata Banerjee’s All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) -  a part of the ruling alliance - is now set to close ranks with Opposition parties against the National Food Security Bill (NFSB).

The West Bengal chief minister and her party have serious reservations on the NFSB, introduced in the Lok Sabha on December 22. The AITC is likely to gang up with the Janata Dal (United) and Jayalalitha’s AIADMK to oppose certain provisions of the Bill in Parliament. Read more

Source : deccanherald.com

Senior UPA ministers losing sleep over proposed Food Security Act

NEW DELHI : The programme to legally provide subsidised foodgrains to beneficiaries under the proposed National Food Security Act is an agenda over which senior ministers of the United Progressive Alliance government are losing sleep and finding it difficult to enforce within the existing public distribution system (PDS) full of loopholes.

Union Minister and NCP chief Sharad Pawar. File photo

Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday said when he thinks of the subsidies to be provided he loses his sleep. The food subsidy bill — when the proposed Act comes into play — is expected to be over Rs. one lakh crore. The Act seeks to provide legal entitlement to subsidised foodgrains to 75 per cent rural and 50 per cent identified urban population. Read more

Source : thehindu.com

Caste census could be ready by July-end: Jairam

New Delhi: The socio-economic caste census, which will be used to identify beneficiaries of various social welfare schemes, including the proposed food law, could only be completed by July-end, according to Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh. 

Last month, Food Minister KV Thomas had written a letter to the Rural Development Minister seeking an updated status of SECC (socio-economic caste census) 2011, and also requested the ministries concerned to complete the survey soon to facilitate the implementation of the proposed food law. Read more

Source : zeenews.india.com

Entrepreneurship can solve poverty, says Narayana Murthy

Kochi : India can solve its poverty only through entrepreneurship, said Infosys founder and mentor N.R. Narayana Murthy here on Tuesday.

N.R. Narayana Murthy.

He was speaking at a function, organised by DC Books on the occasion of the release of the Malayalam translation of his book ‘Better India, Better World.’ Read more

Source : deccanchronicle.com

Ministry to hold meeting on reforms in PDS, food security bill from Feb 8-9

New Delhi : Ministry of consumer affairs, food & public distribution has convened a meeting of state food & agriculture ministers to discuss reforms in PDS. Improvement in Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS), procurement of food grains and enhancement of storage capacity in view of proposed National Food Security Act are also on the agenda of the meeting. 

The two-day conference, to be held on February 8 and 9, 2012, in New Delhi, will be inaugurated by finance minister Pranab Mukherjee and will be addressed by agriculture minister Sharad Pawar and consumer affairs, food & public distribution K V Thomas. Senior officials of various Central ministries, planning commission and UIDAI (Unique Identification Authority of India) are also expected to participate. Read more

Source : fnbnews.com

Bhubaneswar city dwellers stall culling operations

BHUBANESWAR: Culling operations were affected in slums here after residents refused to part with their poultry birds on Monday, while the Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT) silently suffered the loss of its entire stock of fowls used for research.

"We are not able to cull birds in certain slums and residential localities as the people did not cooperate with us," said an officer engaged in culling in parts of the state capital to prevent spread of bird flu. Read more

Source : articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Accent on preventing cancers that are induced by risky lifestyle

COIMBATORE : Call to avoid fast food and instead eat a lot of natural fruits and vegetables

February 4, observed as World Cancer Day, will see yet another attempt by cancer hospitals in the city to drive home the message of prevention and early detection. As in the previous years, this year too will see the medical fraternity making a fervent appeal against the use of tobacco in any form and against a lifestyle that makes the young and the old, including the women in the urban areas, more vulnerable to cancer. The focus is on prevention of cancers caused by lifestyle and early detection of those caused by genetic factors. Read more

Source : thehindu.com

Quality standards, certification for coconut products

Quality standards and certification systems are of great importance in facilitating both national and international trade. They simplify industrial transactions and improve international trade relations, which in turn create a proper environment for trade, thus promoting industrial development.

One of the foremost purposes of standardisation is to facilitate the movement of materials and products through all stages of production in any industrial activity starting from the raw material to the finished products; then to the dealer and finally to the retailers and consumers. Standards make it possible to carry on trade in an economic and efficient manner for they make possible quantitative measurement, physical and chemical analysis, and manufacture of products of constant and uniform quality. Read more

Source : fnbnews.com

Eat healthy, exercise to reduce chance of cancer, say docs

To commemorate International Cancer Awareness Day on February 4, Cancer Council of India (CCI) organised a lecture for the students and staff of Arya College for Boys, Civil Lines, Ludhiana. The key speaker of the event, and Executive Chairman of CCI Dr Devinder Singh Sandhu said, “Cancer is a preventable (to some extent) and treatable (to a large extent) disease.

Healthy food

Cure rate varies according to the stage and type of cancer. But a majority of cancer patients in India seek medical help only after the cancer has reached a very advanced level.” Read more

Source : indianexpress.com

Sensible food choices

What's on your plate? Photo: Special Arrangement

Giving healthy food to their children is a constant concern for parents no matter what social status they belong to. But not all parents are aware of what constitutes healthy nutritious food. The Human Development Report (2009) prepared by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) reported high rates of malnutrition among children in slums, and the urban elite. Malnutrition among slum children is not a surprise as they do not have access to nutritious food. This report highlighted the co-emergence of malnutrition and overnutrition where rich urban children eat excessive calorie rich but nutrient empty food (devoid of minerals and vitamins). Intake of palatably tasty but nutritiously poor fast foods, aerated drinks, foods high in trans fat, saturated fats and sugar (such as pizzas, burgers, sodas and colas, cakes and pastries, samosa, French fries) do not provide the necessary minerals and vitamins required for daily intake although they may provide the necessary calories. Obesity with micronutrient deficiency and protein energy malnutrition is on the rise among children and adolescents in urban India. Read more

Source : thehindu.com

India witnessing a shift towards lifestyle diseases like diabetes, obesity

Luis Cantarell, president and CEO of Nestlé Health Science South Africa concluded his short but intense visit in India yesterday. He reviewed and discussed plans for expansion into nutritional solutions for people with specific dietary needs not met through normal diets. These included dietary needs related to illnesses, disease states or the specific challenges of different life stages. He also met leading medical practitioners to better understand the health care needs in India.

Commenting on the potential for specialised nutritional products in India Luis Cantarell said, “Nestlé Health Sciences was created as a separate company to lead the development of a new industry between food and pharma not only to nourish the people who may be recovering from sickness but also products that focus on disease prevention. We believe that there is a significant existing need as well as an emerging need in India where we will play a major role with our expertise in food and science of nutrition. It is acknowledged that in India there is a significant shift towards lifestyle diseases like diabetes and obesity especially in the urban areas, and to explore better health care solutions for this, Nestlé India has already signed an MOU with the National Diabetes, Obesity and Cholesterol Foundation [N-Doc]." Read more

Source : fnbnews.com

Hunger and riches coexist in India

A national daily presented the other day two contrasting pictures of India. On its front page were the findings of a research indicating the extent of hunger and malnourishment in the country and in one of the inside pages was a report on the explosion on its roads with millions of private vehicles causing traffic jams in its urban centres. One wonders whether these contrasting pictures in a single edition of a daily have caught the attention of those who frame and implement the country’s economic policies. They show, if anything, the growing economic inequality in the country, which can directly be attributed to the policies pursued since economic liberalisation. The government has taken some initiatives to deal with the pervasive hunger and malnutrition but the measures that have been taken seem to have failed to yield the desired results. Read more

Source : groundreport.com

Starbucks to enter India, targets 50 outlets by year-end

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Starbucks Corp will open its first coffee shops in India in August or September, a year later than originally planned, and aims to have 50 outlets by year-end through a tie-up with the Tata group, the country's biggest business house.

Culver, president, Starbucks China and Asia Pacific attends a news conference in Mumbai (DANISH SIDDIQUI, REUTERS / January 30, 2012)

The Seattle-based chain, known as much for the trendy urban lifestyle it represents as its costly cups of coffee, enters a market with a fast-growing middle class and plenty of competition in the small but fast-growing coffee segment. Read more

Source : chicagotribune.com

Need to raise agri productivity before bringing food law: Pawar

NEW DELHI: Agriculture minister Sharad Pawar on Sunday said it would be difficult to implement the proposed food security bill without adequate funds to boost agricultural output.

Pawar, who was not fully aligned with the Congress on the food security legislation, argued that his grievance was that the total budgeted provision for entire agriculture ministry was Rs 20,000 crore and subsidy, as of today, was Rs 65,000 crore which might go up to Rs 1 lakh crore in the current year. Read more

Source : articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Franchising offers promise to start-ups in F&B space

One of the most promising ways to build a successful business in the food and beverage space is through franchising

The mushrooming of restaurants of varied hues, in nearly every corner of urban India, attests to the ease of starting these businesses. As other experts in this paper have written about, Indians are eating out at least once a month and appear to have a great preference for Indian food. Moreover, while fine dining restaurants are doing well in pockets, it is quick service restaurants that are doing roaring business, given the value for money that they offer. The good news for such businesses is that this opportunity is by no means confined to the metros alone but stretches to smaller cities. Read more

Source : livemint.com

J&K govt wakes up, starts collecting milk samples

Srinagar : Following the revelation that 83 percent of milk produced in Jammu and Kashmir contains adulterants, the state government has initiated the process of collecting samples.

With the disclosures triggering panic, the state government has woken up with Health Ministry seeking report about the findings of Food Safety Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). Read more

Source : greaterkashmir.com

78% of urban youth intake dietary supplement: Assocham survey

Bangalore: Due to easy availability of supplements, about 78 per cent of adolescents in urban areas of India consume at least one dietary supplement such as pills, energy drinks, steroids and high-protein, says a survey by industry body Assocham. 

"The statistics are shocking, as many children are becoming overly involved and obsessed by a wide variety of substances that promise to boost energy, appearance, performance, improved immunity and overall health even if it shortened their lives," it said in a statement. Read more

Source : financialexpress.com

SPV for grain movement on cards

Food ministry plans special purpose vehicle with railways for smooth transportation dedicated corridors to be set up

New Delhi : As the government plans to enact a food security law from the next financial year, the food ministry and the railways are working on setting up a special purpose vehicle (SPV) to finance faster movement of foodgrain from producing states to consuming ones.

The SPV will have equity contribution from both departments. It will work towards the establishment of dedicated corridors and procurement of trains and rakes for grain transportation. Read more

Source : business-standard.com

Daman officials unaware about milk survey

VAPI: Union Territory of Daman & Diu was among the 33 states from where Food Safety and Standards Authority of India collected samples for its National Survey on Milk Adulteration 2011 to ascertain the quality of milk and types of adulteration in it.

The highest non confirming sample in descending order of percentage with respect to total sample collected in different states included Bihar(100%), Chhattisgarh(100%), Daman-Diu (100%), Jharkhand 100%), Orissa (100%) and Mizoram (100%). In all, 25 samples were collected from the Union Territory out of which 14 were from rural and 11 from urban areas. Read more

Source : articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com

An organizational problem

Child malnutrition makes headlines but unless grass-roots practices are reordered, it’ll remain a persistent problem

With the release of new malnutrition statistics and the Food Security Bill gaining ground, I am tempted to ask the following question to all those working on the issue including the chairperson of the National Advisory Council (NAC):

“Have you ever spent a day at an anganwadi?”

Photo by Abhijit Bhatlekar/Mint.

Anganwadis, or crèches, are the backbone of the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) scheme initiated in 1975. ICDS targets infant children and pregnant mothers to tackle the problem of malnutrition, infant and maternal mortality and immunization. And yes, like any other mega social welfare scheme, millions of rupees are doled out every year for fortified grains, oil, fruit, etc., to be made available to poor young children and their mothers. Read more

Source : livemint.com

No milk sample found adulterated: Delhi govt to HC

New Delhi: Giving a clean chit to all leading milk suppliers, the city government on Wednesday told the Delhi High Court that no sample of milk was found having material injurious to health. 

"No sample of milk was found having detergent, added urea, neutraliser or any other material injurious to health," said Delhi government counsel Zubeda Begum to the bench of Acting Chief Justice A K Sikri and Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw. Read more

Source : zeenews.india.com

PFC exposure may limit vaccines

Children exposed to chemicals called PFCs — used in some non-stick cookware, stain-resistant coatings, fast-food packaging and microwave popcorn bags — have a reduced response to vaccines, raising the possibility that the compounds could prevent children from being adequately protected against disease, a new study shows.

The study, published today’s Journal of the American Medical Association, focused on perfluorinated compounds, hundreds of which are in use, says study author Philippe Grandjean of the Harvard School of Public Health. Children can be exposed prenatally as well as environmentally. Read more

Source : tucsoncitizen.com

Indians may be getting fat, but think of getting fitter: survey

India’s urban population may be rapidly gaining weight as lifestyle changes take hold, altering dietary habits, but most people seem to have the right idea about what constitutes healthy living.

That’s the finding of a Nielsen survey that a dietician describes as a result of rationalization by and a reflection of intent among the people surveyed. Read more

Source : livemint.com