GANDHINAGAR -- Barely a month ahead of the Gujarat Assembly polls, a purported sex clip of Hardik Patel today surfaced in social media which the Patidar quota stir spearhead claimed was morphed and circulated at the behest of the BJP as part of "dirty politics" to defame him.

The BJP rubbished Patels allegation and dared him to file a police complaint.

In the video, which appears to have been shot in a hotel on May 16, 2017, a person resembling Hardik can be seen in a compromising position with an unidentified woman.

The clip emerged in the afternoon when Patel was in a meeting with key members of the Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS) here to discuss the proposal given by the opposition Congress about how the party would grant reservation to Patels if voted to power.

Commenting on the sex clip purportedly showing him, the 24-year-old Patidar leader said it was the beginning of dirty politics and the BJP would release many more such "morphed" videos to defame him ahead of polls.

"Just few days back, I told the media that such CDs will be circulated. This is just the beginning of dirty politics. I am sure that BJP people would circulate some more CDs because the man who did it recently joined the party in Delhi. But I am not worried at all about such tactics," He told reporters.

"This is a morphed clip and I will give evidence in the coming days to prove my innocence. The BJP wants to retain power by defaming me," he said.

Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya reacted sharply to Patels accusation.

"It is a shameful incident in public life. If the video clip is fake, Hardik Patel should approach police and file a complaint," Mandaviya said.

He said the BJP has nothing to do with the clip.

Patel has been veering towards the Congress ahead of the polls and the party promised it would give the influential Patidars constitutionally valid reservation.

The Gujarat unit of the Congress backed the quota leader, saying the video appears to have been tampered with.

"As the BJP is now staring at defeat, it has resorted to such dirty and shameless tricks. This video clip appears to have been tampered with. The people of Gujarat will avenge it," AICC spokesperson Shaktisinh Gohil said.

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An 18-month-old girl was allegedly raped by her neighbour in south Delhi, the police said.

The incident happened in Shahpur Jat area on Sunday evening and the accused was arrested.

The accused sexually assaulted the toddler when he came to her house to play with her, the police said.

As she was crying later, her mother took her to a nearby hospital where it was found that she had been sexually assaulted.

Subsequently, the accused was identified and arrested, the police said.

More details awaited...

Every once in a while a documentary comes a long that sparks a revolution. It takes an issue that plagues our society and ignites a generation into action. 'Ladies First' is the documentary that could be a game changer for women in India.

On the face of it, the documentary tells us a story that every Indian sports fan is already familiar with. In reality, we live in an impenetrable sports cocoon that has trapped us in the twenty-two yards of the cricket pitch so much that one of the most inspiring journeys of an Indian athlete has gone unnoticed.

The documentary tells the heart wrenching and inspiring story of Deepika Kumari, a girl from the tiny village of Ratu, Jharkhand. Born into poverty, her home had all the problems that come with the territory. There was never enough food on the table, domestic violence was rampant and a life filled with struggle and misery seemed inevitable. Starving and with the noble intention of lessening the burden on her parents, a 12 year old Deepika leaves her village.

On a cousin's recommendation, Deepika joins an archery academy. Her only experience in the sport at this point was with homemade bamboo bows and arrows. Yet a roof over her head and three meals a day was something she couldn't turn away from.

What happens next is almost fairytale-sque in nature. Within four-years Deepika Kumari became the number one women's archer in the world.

Back to the tragedy of Indian Sports.

The situation might actually be worse than we imagine. Every one of us is up in arms every four years when India has a poor showing at the Olympics. Yet as a society rather than get to the root cause we focus on irrelevant topics– how many officials flew to Rio? Or should Salman Khan be our goodwill ambassador? What gets lost in this cacophony is why are Indian athletes not performing?

The film gives us insight in to a number of issues that are not known to the public. Footage of Deepika's and other members of the archery team's uncomfortable travel to the Olympics in Rio are just the tip of the iceberg. After the documentary familiarises you with the infrastructure of Deepika's archery academy, you'd think that it's nothing short of a miracle that Deepika became the world's number one archer.

The problem is clearly systemic and unless changed will result in the same scarcity of medals that we have come to expect.

The issues for women are even worse. Deepika speaks about it in the film with maturity and empathy. She says that we always say 'Ladies First' in various social situations, but why don't we say that for sports in India? Why not for careers?

Yet the case to encourage greater participation of Indian women in sports has never been stronger.

There have been a number of reports on the benefits of women's participation in sports. Studies have shown that apart from the obvious health benefits women that participate in sports are less likely to suffer from teenage pregnancy and substance abuse. Participation in sports also leads to enhanced life skills including self-confidence, self-esteem, communications skills and teamwork. According to a 2007 UN report – "The participation of women and girls in sport challenges gender stereotypes and discrimination, and can therefore be a vehicle to promote gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls."

The country is not short on role models either. Last year Indian Women significantly out performed Indian men in the sports world. Sania, Sindhu, Saina, Dipa Karmarkar, Mithali Raj, Aditi Ashok, Sakhshi Malik, the Phogat sisters, Mary Kom and our Hockey team are all women who have broken barriers.

Yet what these successful women of substance, talent and character have to deal with to reach their goals is more than any man in India would have to go through. What is worse is that when they do become the best, they are then questioned by ignorant members of our society on whether their sports gear is appropriate apparel for a woman.

Shaana and Uraaz Bahl, the producers of the documentary 'Ladies First' (Uraaz is also the Director) have a more holistic vision for the film. "We want to empower women in India through sports," says Uraaz. "With the belief that human connection and the power of storytelling is the necessary catalyst for social change, our goal is to connect audiences to an inspirational role model. We all have dreams but the difference is these girls have no support system to help get their dreams realised. By including Deepika into their lives they can finally feel ownership of her stories and hopefully say 'If she can do it, so can I'. That's why we want this film screened at schools all over the country so there is a ripple effect of change."

The documentary has already won seven international film awards. A screening was also conducted with Maneka Gandhi, the Union Cabinet Minister for Women and Child Development, with the intention of creating national awareness. It may be my blind love for sports and perpetual optimism but I believe that if young girls in our country see Deepika's story it will be a game changer for Women in India.

Change in the form of infrastructure, opportunity for women in sports and most importantly the mindset of the role of a girl child and woman in our society. It is clear that the time for 'Ladies First' is now.

The opinions expressed in this post are the personal views of the author. They do not necessarily reflect the views of HuffPost India. Any omissions or errors are the author's and HuffPost India does not assume any liability or responsibility for them.

When I worked as an engineer in chemical plants dealing with hazardous chemicals, I never felt sick, but I do now in the winter months in Delhi-NCR. The pollution in the past few weeks has been particularly bad and the blame has been pinned on the farmers of Haryana and Punjab, who are burning crop residue. I find it amusing. If one has already over-eaten at a party and then stuffs another small portion for the road, should we point fingers at the final bite if the person vomits? If someone is walking on the edge of a cliff, and trips on a stone to fall to his death, will we blame the stone?

The quality of air in Delhi NCR has been "unhealthy" for long. A couple of years ago, my husband's routine check-up showed some spots on his chest X-ray. He was surprised, but the doctor was not. "This is very common. I see this in over 70 percent of healthy individuals due to the pollution in the air. Avoid walking on the streets," the doctor said very calmly.

Now the damage is no longer sub-clinical and many of us are experiencing physical discomfort like burning eyes, headaches, breathing trouble and so on.

The historical data of AQI (air quality index) confirms this. The final blow has come from the crop burning issue which has pushed the air quality from being unhealthy or very unhealthy category to its extreme "hazardous" category.

Now the damage is no longer sub-clinical and many of us are experiencing physical discomfort like burning eyes, headaches, breathing trouble and so on. A time has come, when we need signboards, saying, "You will be healthier if you don't exercise."

Facebook is full of advisories like – "stay indoors and stay safe". How about the daily wage labor, the bus drivers, the delivery boys and so on, who have to toil on the streets? For how long do we think the indoor air will stay isolated?

Who is to blame?

We have found a good scapegoat in the farmers. Interestingly, we turn a blind eye when the same farmers ply overloaded tractors carrying construction materials on national highways and city roads. The tractors breakdown often and cause traffic jams that cause pollution. No one talks about this.

We, the city people have to burn diesel for our DG sets to make up for the shortage of electricity supply. We have to use motorcycles and cars, as the public transport is pathetic. The industries have to use diesel run commercial vehicles for even long distance transport, as our railways are unreliable and inefficient. A few news reports have mentioned that 70 percent of the total 22000 three wheelers (auto rikshaws) in Gurgaon still run on diesel and not on CNG .

Even the light commercial vehicles (LCVs) used typically for the last mile delivery do not have the option of running on petrol or CNG. Broken roads and random traffic with no regard for rules leads to jams and severe pollution. Even without looking at the data of exhaust fumes, anyone who has driven or walked behind a diesel commercial vehicle can testify to the choking feeling. Several factories that do not meet the emission standards continue to run for the reasons best known to the authorities. The garbage mounds near the city limits are growing taller by the day for the lack of proper waste management methods. In case they catch fire during the bad air season, it makes headlines. The list is ever growing. If the whole country runs on "jugaad", why can the farmers not find their own ways to deal with the lack of infrastructure and systems for maximizing their profits?

Anyone who has driven or walked behind a diesel commercial vehicle can testify to the choking feeling.

Have we set-up the mechanism (physical and financial incentives) for collecting the agriculture waste and using it for power production? The technology is well- established and many domestic companies have the capability of setting up these units, yet the same issue recurs every year. Have we ever stopped the farmers when they bring their off-road tractors on the streets? How can we now expect them to start following some environmental guidelines? With some patchy steps like "bans" and nature's kindness, the air quality moves from being "hazardous" to "unhealthy", and we consider it an acceptable improvement.Delhi makes the headlines, but most of our densely populated cities already have unhealthy air. Do we need data to support this? A short walk on the streets will be enough.

We are staring at the tip of the iceberg and looking for magic solutions without addressing the 80 percent of the ice-mass that is below the surface. The residents of apartment complexes pay at least three times the price of the regular power supply for their DG electricity to get uninterrupted power. People spend a lot more money on their private transport as the alternatives are pathetic. So, the argument of lack of funds to fix the root causes is ill founded. The only thing that is lacking is the political will and a system that wants to address the fundamentals and execute the solutions.

The residents of apartment complexes pay at least three times the price of the regular power supply for their DG electricity to get uninterrupted power.

We have been living with the bad quality of water supply for at least three decades and have found a solution in the home water-purification devices. The population that does not have the means has learnt to live with the diseases. With millions of tons of plastic waste choking our water resources, the problem has reached epic proportions, but there is no action in sight.

I hope that the pathetic air quality does not become an acceptable norm like the poor water quality and fuel the growth of new industries like air-purifiers, masks, oxygen cylinders, oxygen bars, oxygen gyms, new wellness clinics, more hospitals and so on.

Economic growth and clean environment can co-exist if we think holistically instead of the quick fixes. We need to stop believing the stories fed to us and work towards reclaiming our fundamental right of pure air, pure water, and unadulterated food.

The opinions expressed in this post are the personal views of the author. They do not necessarily reflect the views of HuffPost India. Any omissions or errors are the author's and HuffPost India does not assume any liability or responsibility for them.

The Information and Broadcasting Ministry is once again using its powers to prevent certain films from screening at film festivals.

A few days ago, it was reported the I&B Ministry got two films, Sanal Kumar Sasidharan's Sexy Durga (which was re-titled S Durga so it could play at the Mumbai Film Festival) and Ravi Jadhav's Nude, dropped from the selection of the International Film Festival of India, slated to take place in Panjim from November 20.

The films were dropped despite being selected by the 13-member IFFI jury, a committee ironically formed by the Ministry itself.

In a bid to register his protest against governmental interference, filmmaker Sujoy Ghosh (Kahaani) has resigned from his post of jury chairperson.

Talking to PTI, Ghosh confirmed that his decision came in the wake of Sexy Durga and Nude being pulled out from the selection.

Directors of both films expressed disappointment at the Ministry's arbitrary decision.

In a detailed Facebook post, Sasidharan said, "It is a shame that no one from the Kerala film fraternity or any film activists or any Malayalam media makes any comment against the arbitrary removal of two films from the list of Indian Panorama by the I and B ministry. Even some of the jury members have made public statement against this injustice. Where has gone our so called intellectuals now? Where is your slogans for the right to freedom and expression?"

Hindustan Times quoted Nude director Ravi Jadhav as saying, "Give me some reason at least. It was selected as the opening film. It was a big honour. I am really disappointed and shocked to hear that it has been dropped."

While Sexy Durga's struggle to release in India continues, the film has already received critical acclaim abroad, even winning the prestigious Tiger Award at the International Film Festival Rotterdam.

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The first-ever WHO Global Ministerial Conference on TB is slated to take place on November 15-16 in Moscow. And with it, comes a lot of hope for the future -- one where we truly end TB. I am a TB survivor myself and figuring out how to wipe out a preventable and curable disease like TB is something close to my heart. And as someone who is sitting on the sidelines and watching health ministers from all over the world come together to talk about a disease that is one of the top 10 causes of death in the world according to the WHO, there is something that goes beyond medicine that I hope these ministers talk about.

And that is the people who are affected by TB. People like me. Or my next-door neighbour who told me she had TB a couple of weeks ago. Or my other neighbour who was like family to us -- an extremely bright, smart kid who I grew up with in another city -- who did not live past his 19th birthday because Multi-Drug-Resistant TB took away his promising life.

There is something that goes beyond medicine that I hope these ministers talk about.

A few weeks ago I released a film featuring Tuberculosis (TB) survivors, called End the Taboo – End TB, and the hardest part about making this film was finding and getting people to talk about TB on camera. I even had a few people who I filmed who ultimately backed-off from getting featured in the film because they didn't want their friends and family to know that they had TB. Too many questions to answer, they said. So this is where we stand -- we have a disease that is silently killing 1 person every minute in India, yet it is still taboo to talk about TB.

The Global TB report came out a few weeks ago. And there's little to cheer about for India.

India tops the list of new TB cases in 2016. The WHO report showed that up to 27.9 lakh patients were estimated to be infected in the country in 2016 out of which 4.23 lakh died in India alone. No badge of honour there.

The infection burden in China, a more populous country, is one third of India at 8.95 lakh.

The infection burden in China, a more populous country, is one third of India at 8.95 lakh. And to make matters worse, India along with China and the Russia accounted for almost of half of the 4.9 lakh, multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) cases registered in 2016. Multi-drug resistant TB – a more stubborn bacteria and expensive treatment costs that goes into lakhs of rupees in the private sector.

And this is what we know. I shudder to think what we don't know.

While the Government has ambitious plans to eradicate TB by 2025, how do we get rid of disease where the community itself is silent? I experienced first-hand that silence, both in my experience of being a TB survivor and in making this film. And this silence is killing -- literally.

I was silent myself for four years after I got cured. And it all boils down to how this disease is perceived. The doctor who treated me, first asked me, "How did you get TB? It is a poor man's disease." That is the first slap on the face. And the first sign of stigma. The medical fraternity and society forgets all too quickly that TB is an infectious disease that is air-borne and can affect anyone - it doesn't matter if you are a rag picker or a multi-million dollar CEO.

The books may tell you that it is a poor man's disease. The truth is this -- the rich are just not talking about it.

The books may tell you that it is a poor man's disease. The truth is this -- the rich are just not talking about it.

Women are often made to feel like their future prospects of marriage will be affected – something I have a hard time understanding why. Both men and women face stigma at the workplace if colleagues find out about the TB diagnosis – too much ignorance. All these factors contribute to the silence.

You catch it like you catch a cold, yet it's best you don't talk about it because, hey, "What will people think?"

Here's what people should think: TB is a preventable and curable bacterial infection. That is precisely what it is. Nothing more, nothing less.

With 40-50 percent of people in India having the latent TB bacteria living in us, TB is a disease we need to reckon with – before it further spirals out of control. Like the strong, brave survivors who chose to stand up and be counted in my film, I request the others who have been affected by TB too make your voice heard -- we NEED your voices to end TB. And believe me, we are listening.

I was eating pizza at a popular pizzeria in Mumbai last night, when I couldn't help but overhear a conversation in the next table. A woman was talking about her friend who planned a vacation with her best friend to Budapest -– tickets in hand and accommodation booked -- when the plan got cancelled. Why? Because her friend was diagnosed with TB. The others at the table were wide-eyed when they heard TB. And this woman clearly repeated, "Yes, TB. You know, Tuberculosis".

We need to declare war against a disease that is inexcusably taking too many lives. And the first step is to start talking about it. Like those people in the next table did -- we got to start somewhere.

The opinions expressed in this post are the personal views of the author. They do not necessarily reflect the views of HuffPost India. Any omissions or errors are the author's and HuffPost India does not assume any liability or responsibility for them.

The Election Commission has barred the ruling BJP in Gujarat from using the word "Pappu" in an electronic advertisement, which apparently targeted Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi, calling it "derogatory".

"Pappu" is perceived as a social media slur coined to target Gandhi.

Confirming the development, sources in the BJP today said the script of the advertisement did not link the word to any individual.

According to BJP sources, the media committee under the Gujarat Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) objected to the word mentioned in the script of the advertisement which was submitted by the party for approval last month.

"Before making any election-related advertisement, we have to submit a script to the committee to get a certificate. However, they raised objection to the word 'Pappu', saying it is derogatory. They asked us to remove or replace it," a senior BJP leader said.

He said the party will replace the word and submit a new script for the EC's approval.

"Since there was no direct mention or linkage with any person while mentioning 'Pappu' in the entire script, we had appealed to the committee to reconsider their decision, but they rejected it. Now, we will change that word and submit a new script for approval," he said.

When contacted, Gujarat CEO BB Swain said he was not aware of any such development and can comment only after getting the details tomorrow.

The Zimbabwean soldiers with Zimbabwe Defense Forces (ZDF) have reportedly seized control of the state broadcasting outlet in the wee hours of the Wednesday morning.

The move is being speculated as a military coup against President Robert Mugabe, reported the Sputnik.

Two workers for the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) and human rights worker claimed that the soldiers occupied the state broadcasters' headquarters here.

The staffers of the state broadcasting claimed that they were manhandled by the soldiers as they took control of the office.

Meanwhile, as per reports, gunfights and at least three explosions in the streets were heard in the country capital. The house of President Mugabe has also been occupied by the military.

Videos have also surfaced of military vehicles, including tanks and trucks, blocking streets.

Earlier in November, Mugabe removed his vice president, Emmerson Mnangagwa from the post.

Mnangagwa had been in the government for decades and was a soldier during the nation's war for independence in the 1970's.

He was also considered as the successor of the resident and is popular with the military.

The word secularism is the "biggest lie" told post-Independence, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said, prompting a strong retort from the Congress today.

"I feel the word secularism is the biggest lie (told) in India post-Independence...those who have given birth to and used the word repeatedly should apologise to the people of India...there is no word like secularism," Adityanath said.

He made the remarks while responding to a query about communalism and secularism at an event organised by the Dainik Jagran group in Chhattisgarh capital Raipur yesterday.

Adityanath said a political system "cannot be secular".

However, it can be "sect-neutral", he added.

Adityanath said it was not possible to run a government following a particular way of 'upasana' (worship).

"I have to look after 22 crore people (of Uttar Pradesh).

"I am answerable for their security and for respecting their sentiments. But I am not here to appease any particular community or caste," he said.

According to a media report, the chief minister also said there was "Ram Rajya" under the Narendra Modi government. The term 'Ram Rajya' is often used for describing an ideal state of affairs.

Senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal hit out at Adityanath for his remarks, which he termed as the "biggest lie".

"Yogi Adityanath says 'secularism is a lie' and compares Modi's government to 'Ram Rajya'. This 'Truth' is perhaps the biggest lie," Sibal said on Twitter.

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A few weeks back, a forum on clean cooking was arranged in New Delhi. The forum was funded by International Organizations like UN, World Bank and USAID among others. There were about 600 delegates from 50 countries. In the three-day forum (where, unfortunately, quite a few of the presentations and panel discussions were mediocre) talks centred around how to mitigate the misery of poor households in rural areas by implementing clean cooking technology solutions.

There are reports (the veracity of this data is questionable) that 9 million deaths take place every year world over due to indoor air pollution in rural households. This pollution is caused by cooking on smoky and inefficient wood-powered chulhas and the use of very inefficient kerosene based lighting devices like lanterns.

Thus various governments world over are dedicated to eradicating this pollution by producing clean cooking fuels and technologies. Thus there were panel discussions on improved biomass cook stoves, supply chain of pelleted fuel, solar PV cooking, ethanol stoves and many panels on funding and investments in this sector.

In India this program is bring spearheaded by various ministries but the lead has been taken by Pradhan Mantri Ujawala Yojana (MPUY) where the aim is to provide 50 million LPG connections to rural poor by 2020. Government of India (GOI) claims that already 30 million connections have been given to rural poor! LPG is one of the cleanest fuels presently being used in urban areas of India and around the world. India today imports 90% of its LPG (50% is directly imported and 40% is made from imported oil) with total outlay of Rs. 32,000 crores/year. With ambitious Government of India (GOI) program of providing 50 million connections to the rural households by 2020 this import bill will substantially increase.

With ambitious Government of India (GOI) program of providing 50 million connections to the rural households by 2020 this import bill will substantially increase.

Besides the high import bill, the ground reality of problems in implementing such a scheme is still questionable. There are many instances in rural areas where the households do not get the cylinders either because of lack of delivery infrastructure or because they are diverted by gas agencies to other customers. Also it is still costly for rural poor to purchase them. Even with subsidized price of about Rs. 490/cylinder, purchasing a cylinder puts a major dent in poor people's monthly budget.

So in many cases after the gas in their cylinder is finished the rural poor go back to wood or biomass residues which are nearly free though there is drudgery involved in collecting them.

Another hair brained scheme of GOI discussed in the forum is to promote electric cooking in rural areas for pollution abatement! Even today there are more than 50 million rural households which do not have any electricity and even those villages where GOI claims that electricity has reached; it comes on for few hours late at night when the cooking requirement is nearly zero. Electric cooking via induction cook stoves consumes nearly 1000 W of power. In this power a rural household can get excellent lighting; sufficient energy to operate a fan for cooling and for other household uses like mixers, etc.

Another hair brained scheme of GOI discussed in the forum is to promote electric cooking in rural areas for pollution abatement!

The primary aim of electricity should be to provide light and power a fan for comfort cooling and not for induction cooking. If in future the electricity to rural areas becomes abundant, then electric cooking could be thought of as a possible solution.

It is not entirely misplaced to believe that both LPG and electric cooking are being pushed by international agencies with their own agenda of selling goods in India. Government of India is also talking of using solar energy PV power for running the electric induction stoves. Since there is no sun in the evening and early morning (when most of the cooking in rural households takes place) there will be a great requirement of electricity storage which at present is very inefficient and costly. Besides all PV modules used presently in India are imported.

Cooking is a heat-based process. To first convert the heat of fossil fuels into electricity (with only 30% conversion efficiency) then transmit it long distances and again convert it into heat is a very inefficient process. The western societies which have surplus electricity have become electric societies and thus for convenience they use electric cooking. For decentralized rural based country like India we should opt for systems that convert locally available energy resources directly into heat for cooking.

Liquid fuels have the highest energy density among all the fuels (kW/kg) and are easy to transport. Thus they should be promoted for use in efficient liquid fuel stoves for cooking. Both fossil fuels like diesel and kerosene and renewable fuels like ethanol belong to this category.

An excellent technology for liquid fuel cooking is a lanstove developed by a rural-based organization Nimbkar Agricultural Research Institute (NARI) in Phaltan, Maharashtra.

All fuels are dirty – it is their combustion which makes them clean. Thus the focus should be on developing excellent combustion technologies for liquid fuels and NARI lanstove fits the bill.

Lanstove runs on diesel which is available all over the country-even in the smallest of villages. The lanstove produces excellent light (equivalent to that from a 100-200 W incandescent bulb) via a thermoluminscent mantle and the heat from the mantle cooks a complete meal for a family of 5 including chapattis and bhakaris. It does not produce any smoke, smell, or particulates and since both heat and light are produced simultaneously it is 5 times more efficient than electric cooking and lighting. Through the use of UID card the diesel can be subsidized for rural poor. Such technologies should be propagated and encouraged by GOI.

Generally whenever we talk of using kerosene or diesel for cooking, the first immediate reaction in a person's mind is that they are dirty fuels. All fuels are dirty – it is their combustion which makes them clean. Thus the focus should be on developing excellent combustion technologies for liquid fuels and NARI lanstove fits the bill.

Similarly there is a need for infusion of funds in R&D so that agricultural residues can be converted into liquid fuels like diesel and kerosene. India produces close to 600-800 million tons of agricultural residues/year. Most of them are burned in the fields after harvesting of crops resulting in tremendous outdoor air pollution for both cities and towns. Use of these residues for producing liquid fuels like diesel and kerosene can reduce our petroleum import bill drastically. Besides this will also make these fuels renewable and home grown.

However, very little international funding is available for pushing such technologies for rural cooking.

However, very little international funding is available for pushing such technologies for rural cooking. A ray of hope was given in the Cooking forum by Tata Trusts who are in the process of rolling out a platform where funding will be available for technology development which will be coupled with that for early stage startups. Such funding will help to increase innovations in cooking technologies.

Though there are worldwide efforts underway on improving cook stoves but the biggest problem of removing the drudgery of cooking by rural women is still not solved. After toiling the whole day in the field in blazing sun they come home and are required to cook a complete meal for the family. This is very wearisome and most of the times women are too tired and in no mood to cook. This together with the meager rations from the Public Distribution System (PDS) shops results in tremendous malnourishment in rural households.

So a very novel scheme of creating rural restaurants has been proposed by NARI. These restaurants will provide clean wholesome food to rural poor at a subsidized price via the use of UID cards. For regular clients the restaurants will charge the full price. This will not only give good food to the rural poor, but the indoor air pollution in rural households also will be drastically reduced besides giving them relief from drudgery of cooking. This concept of rural restaurants may have been the catalyst for the famous "Amma canteens" in Tamil Nadu.

International forums like the one held in Delhi may not help the rural poor directly but they have been successful in bringing into focus the problems faced by them. This will facilitate an influx of funding and hopefully bright brains to the neglected areas of development.

The opinions expressed in this post are the personal views of the author. They do not necessarily reflect the views of HuffPost India. Any omissions or errors are the author's and HuffPost India does not assume any liability or responsibility for them.

WASHINGTON -- Smartphone addiction has become an actual problem in an increasingly digital world. Prolonged use of smartphones and computers may even increase the risk of depression and suicide- related behaviours in teenagers, especially girls, a major study warns.

"These increases in mental health issues among teens are very alarming," said Jean Twenge, from the San Diego State University in the US. "Teens are telling us they are struggling, and we need to take that very seriously," Twenge said.

Researchers studied questionnaire data from more than 500,000 teens. The study published in the journal Clinical Psychological Science looked at data suicide statistics kept by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

They found that the suicide rate for girls aged between 13 and 18 years increased by 65% between 2010 and 2015. The number of girls experiencing so called suicide- related outcomes - feeling hopeless, thinking about suicide, planning for suicide or attempting suicide - rose by 12%. The number of teen girls reporting symptoms of severe depression increased by 58%.

"When I first saw these sudden increases in mental health issues, I wasn't sure what was causing them," Twenge said. "But these same surveys ask teens how they spend their leisure time, and between 2010 and 2015, teens increasingly spent more time with screens and less time on other activities," he said. "That was by far the largest change in their lives during this five-year period, and it's not a good formula for mental health," he added.

The researchers returned to the data and looked to see if there was a statistical correlation between screen-time and depressive symptoms and suicide-related outcomes. They found that 48% of teens who spent five or more hours per day on electronic devices reported at least one suicide-related outcome, compared to only 28%of those who spent less than an hour a day on devices.

Depressive symptoms were more common in teens who spent a lot of time on their devices, as well. On the positive side, the researchers found that spending time away from screen and engaging in social interaction, sports and exercise, doing homework, attending religious services, etc was linked to having fewer depressive symptoms and suicide-related outcomes.

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As buzzwords go, currently millets seem to be topping the list. We are talking about it, trying to cook it at home, and seeing them pop up on restaurant menus. We seem to be finally waking up to a load of goodness that's been growing in your backyards.

Millets have always had a lot going for them, they are indigenous, score high on nutrition, and are classified as smart foods. "Yet, with the Green Revolution, processing of rice and wheat became easier, resulting in them being readily available," says Agriculture Minister, Government of Karnataka (GoK), Krishna Byre Gowda, who has been a strong proponent of millets. The recent National Trade Fair organised in Bangalore by the GoK, with a focus on millets, saw large numbers of farmers, consumers, exhibitors and more participating.

"Rice became a symbol of aspiration as it signified socio-economic improvement. Added to that, the longer cooking times that millets have and the perception that it is a poor man's food, relegated it to the back burner," he added.

In Uttarakhand, mandua (finger millet) is eaten as rotis, jhangora (barnyard millet) as paleu or chencha, a savoury porridge cooked in buttermilk; in Gujarat and Maharashtra, sama is eaten during fasts and daliya (lapsi) is a staple

But, Rushina Munshaw Ghildiyal -- food writer, menu consultant and owner of APB Cook Studio Mumbai--strongly feels that millets never really lost their significance. "They still feature strongly in traditional food habits and home cuisines. In Uttarakhand, mandua (finger millet) is eaten as rotis, jhangora (barnyard millet) as paleu or chencha, a savoury porridge cooked in buttermilk; in Gujarat and Maharashtra, sama is eaten during fasts and daliya (lapsi) is a staple. Bajra and jowar are common, as are chaulai (Amaranth), kauni and other millets.

Are we really going back to our roots?

"Going back to old ways is only a matter of acceptance," says chef Kasiviswanathan, Executive Chef, One Atria Café, Radisson Blu Atria Bengaluru. "But for me, as a professional chef, there is always the desire to do something different and unique, and millets give us that opportunity. We have made ragi hoppers and converted that to a biryani with sprouted ragi added in. We also have ragi hoppers served with coconut milk infused with jaggery and scented with cardamom for the sweet tooth."

It's thanks to this innovative drive by restaurants and home chefs that millets seem to be gathering momentum. That is how we are getting to see a millet risotto, porridge, desserts, and even energy bars created at Eywa by Saby in Delhi and Mineority by Saby in Pune. "20 years ago when everything from the West glittered, we were taken up by it," says Sabyasachi Gorai, chef and mentor, fondly known as Chef Saby. "Today, millets have found their place as a superfood in the world. The idea is to look at what is easily available in the local biodiversity. The art lies in creating amazing dishes from what is locally found around you, rather than with exotic ingredients". Think about how delicious Chef Saby's black olive and millet risotto can be!

"We also have ragi hoppers served with coconut milk infused with jaggery and scented with cardamom for the sweet tooth."

Considering that the eating out crowd today primarily comprises millennials who are keenly watching food trends, the focus on them as key audience is natural. When considering how to propagate the use of millets, Manu Chandra, Chef Partner, Toast & Tonic (Olive Group), says that experts he worked with felt there were two ways to go about it: bottom up or top down. "Top down, we found to be ideal, because of the proclivity of the younger generation to look at cool things and be open to them," says Manu. "By highlighting that it is not only versatile but tasty, we have managed in a small span of time, to take it from obscurity to something that is a hero".

Chef Manu has found so many uses for millets across the board. He says, "We use them in desserts, cakes, pancakes, summer roll-ups, salads, tikkis, croquettes, kibbehs and as fillers. The success of a millet risotto bar at a recent commercial catering gig that we did shows that it is going to be a bona fide eating option soon".

With an increased awareness on millets and the vast possibilities with it, chef Ramasamy Selvaraju, Executive Chef, Taj Vivanta, MG Road, Bangalore, serves up a host of dishes that are seen across his restaurants and cuisines. "For our breakfast buffet, we have dishes like sorghum upma, ragi pongal and multi-grain dosas on offer. We have also created an array of modern European food across courses which include the roasted pearl millet tossed with baby pineapple, smoked chicken, crispy lettuce with coriander vinaigrette and, a combination of foxtail, and pearl millet ravioli filled with goat cheese and vegetables tossed with sundried tomato pesto with olive oil."

Krishnamoorthi always felt that it would be the older generation of folks to frequent their outlets, but he was pleasantly surprised to see that 75% of his guests were young adults!

With chefs in standalone as well as star establishments presenting millets in so many ways, experts like Rushina too have tempting creations of their own out there. "I love millets and use them regularly in traditional dishes and world cuisines. I make a jowar bajra porridge, green-mango-jowar salad as well as savoury and sweet millet Buddha bowls. Millets can be used as substitutes for rice, in everything from fried rice to risotto and khichdi".

Eating millets the traditional Way

The good thing about millets and its use is that it does not have to be rendered in international and innovative forms to be acceptable by all. Standing testimony to this are restaurants such as Prems Graama Bhojanam (PGB) in Chennai and Bangalore. When N S Krishnamoorthi first began PGB in Chennai with a completely millet-based menu, he did it with the idea of providing people with food that they were familiar with.

"It is our afternoon lunch thalis that are the biggest hit," he says. "It has three kinds of muddes – ragi, bajra, white millet, and four kinds of Kodo-based preparations in keeping with favourites like tomato rice, tamarind rice, curd and lemon rice. This is followed up with sambar made of Foxtail Millet and then a lemon ginger pepper rasam fortified with herbs such as Brahmi. There are also seasonal, local vegetables served. A black rice halwa with organic jaggery is a speciality. Another very popular dish is our Tumkur style inspired thatte idli made using a kodo millet".

Krishnamoorthi always felt that it would be the older generation of folks to frequent their outlets, but he was pleasantly surprised to see that 75% of his guests were young adults! While one may have gone the traditional way, an approach that Vaathsalya Millet Café in Bangalore took is that of mixing and matching old recipes with new.

"My mom used to disguise our food a lot to feed us healthier. She was always innovating and experimenting with food, and so it wasn't difficult for her to come up with an all millets menu", says Vivek Madinur, Business Development Manager of Vaathsalya Cafe. "Our menu looks modern but has a North Karnataka rural cuisine touch to it. We have millet malts, buttermilk and snacks. We also have a unique creation of our own: ragi pop. This is popped ragi that is spiced, the ready-to-eat snack came about when we wanted to create something healthy for my grandmother!"

Proponents of millets believe that the increased awareness and demand will encourage more cultivation and proliferation of millets. Better choices being made available to consumers by innovative chefs will definitely help too. The bottom line remains that we do not have to look too far to help cultivate healthier food habits.

The opinions expressed in this post are the personal views of the author. They do not necessarily reflect the views of HuffPost India. Any omissions or errors are the author's and HuffPost India does not assume any liability or responsibility for them.

For years, a seemingly-innocuous question about the origin of a popular sweet in India's east had the potential to turn any discussion bitter. On Tuesday, finally, it was settled that 'rosogolla' — a sweet, syrupy ball of cottage cheese — originated in West Bengal. The state won the Geographical Indication (GI) tag for the iconic dessert.

Bengalis obviously celebrated the news (with rosogolla, no doubt) on all platforms of social media — it's a hard-fought victory after all. However, their neighbours in Odisha were understandably upset.

"If such a decision has been taken, certainly justice has not been done with Odisha. Rasagolla has got an age-old bond with Lord Jagannath culture and our other rituals. It has several mythological and other evidence," IANS quoted Odisha's Finance Minister Sahibhusan Behera as saying.

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik tweeted: "Odisha government is in process of obtaining GI tag for Odishara Rasagolla. It originated in Odisha and is offered at Jagannath Temple as part of religious rituals by people of Odisha since the 12th century."

The Odisha government has vowed to not let Bengal savor this victory. It would battle to get the GI tag for 'Odia Rasagolla' just as Bengal has the certificate for 'Banglar Rosogolla'.

Odisha Government is in process of obtaining GI tag for Odishara Rasagolla. It originated in #Odisha and is offered at Jagannath Temple as part of religious rituals by people of Odisha since centuries. pic.twitter.com/zk0tOAxj7c

— CMO Odisha (@CMO_Odisha) November 14, 2017

According to reports, the Odisha government has prepared a detailed document with the help of historians.

"If we apply for GI tag, we can get it for Odisha Rasagola. So, the origin of Rasagola is not settled in anyone's favour," a state government official told IANS.

Senior examiner, GI Chennai, Prasant Kumar said Odisha can always apply for its 'Rasagola' with proper documents to substantiate its claims on origin of 'Odia Rasagola'.

Ah ha! So the GI tag is ONLY for the spongy, usually canned, variety? We should arrange a head-to-head tasting against the succulent, brown, nuclear-attack-on-the-taste-buds varieties from Salipur, Pahalo, & dozens of other places in Odisha with centuries' longer tradition😎 https://t.co/lSBlTsFDLN

— Baijayant Jay Panda (@PandaJay) November 15, 2017

Ha ha looks like we Bengalis won this war. Banglar Rasogolla gets the GI tag that confirms it was originated in Bengal invented by confectioner Nabin Chandra Das. Half a dozen documentary evidence dating back to 1896.https://t.co/nmn2C8VgGV

— Sanjukta Basu (@sanjukta) November 15, 2017

Rosogolla, the one sweet that is a part of Odisha's history n life gets a GI tag for Bengal ! U lost rosogolla to Bengal ! @CMO_Odisha why did you fail to convince ?

— Rupashree Nanda (@rupashreenanda) November 14, 2017

May be the #Rasagolla battle not lost yet. But, #Odisha Govt fails to answer why it slept on this issue for two years and waited for West Bengal Govt to get the GI tag on their Rasagolla first.

— Bhrugu Baxipatra (@BhruguBJP) November 15, 2017

In this war over the king of sweets, the most confusion has been over how to spell its name.

In local pronunciation, Bengali's call it 'roshogolla', however 'rosogolla' and 'rasogolla' are perfectly acceptable as well. In the north it is pronounced as 'rasgulla'. Similarly Odisha, when it claims its own GI tag, can apply for 'rasagolla', 'rasgulla' or 'rasagola'.

"Geographical indication" is a tag which identifies agricultural goods, natural goods or manufactured goods as originating, or manufactured in the territory of a country, or a region or locality in that territory. However, as this article pointed out, it "would not enable the holder to prevent others from making a product using the same techniques as long as it does not claim the same geographical origin."