Today is Teachers Day. In my view, the most important characteristic of a good teacher should be to keep in view the following advice of Gurdev Rabindranath Tagore

Leader of the Green Revolution Dr. M.S Swaminathan and Padma Shri Dr. H Sudarshan, today, launched the National Nutrition Strategy, along with Vice Chairman Dr. Rajiv Kumar and Member Dr. Vinod Paul. With a benefit to cost ratio of 16:1 for 40 low and middle-income countries, there is a well recognized rationale, globally, for investing in Nutrition.

The experience of Hiroshima and Nagasaki has demonstrated the unprecedented loss of life and property which can be caused by a nuclear war is lead to leading scientist like Albert Einstein and Bertrand Russel to promote to Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs.

Today is the beginning of the National Nutrition Week. It will be worthwhile to spend this week in generating awareness of the implications of malnutrition particularly with reference to brain development in the child.

The 'Every Child a Scientist Programme’ of MSSRF that provides science awareness to students from corporation schools, has a new attraction.

A recent paper, published by the PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy Sciences of the United States) and authored by Tamma A. Carleton, titled “Climate Change and Agricultural Suicides in India” claims that “temperature during India’s main agricultural growing season has a strong positive effect on annual suicide rates.” Using state-level data for 1967 to 2013, the author suggests that an increase in 1°C temperature in a single day can cause 70 suicides. It also claimed that the evidence leads to the conclusion that it is the damage to crops by extreme temperatures that leads to economic hardship and suicide.

Madras Day reminds us of the unique features of this historic city. The city played an important role in the freedom and social justice movements and was the home of great leaders like C Rajagopalachari, Kamaraj, and Thanthai Periyar.

Severe floods are now affecting parts of Assam, West Bengal and Bihar. The immediate suffering caused to both human beings and livestock is immense.

The work of Mrs Mina Swaminathan, Distinguished Chair, Gender and Development, M S Swaminathan Research Foundation, on gender, early childhood development and theatre has been compiled in an online archive.

Seventy years ago when our country achieved Independence, the government decided that tragedies like the Bengal Famine should not occur in Independent India. Several steps were taken including additional irrigation facilities and the introduction of science in agriculture but still both hunger and malnutrition persist.

According to the UN the global population of youth is now exceeding 1.2 billion. In India there are over 356 million young persons (10-24 years).

Setting the tone for a new agenda on nutrition in the country, Prof M S Swaminathan, Founder MSSRF called for a ‘nutrition revolution’ in India. Speaking at the concluding session of the 3-day conference on Farming System for Nutrition, organized by MSSRF in Chennai, Prof Swaminathan said there needs to be a Common Minimum Programme among stakeholders so that ‘Zero Hunger’ could be achieved.