• A report found that 12 months after a ban on smoking in bars in New Zealand, there were no downturn in bar sales, tourism or employment, contrary to predictions of serious economic consequences to the hospital industry following the ban.

Notwithstanding the legislative provisions to safeguard their landed interests, tribals are getting driven to circumstances in which retaining hold over the land under their possession is becoming difficult. The quality of land held by them is so poor that, in its present form, it cannot promise them any reasonable returns. The low returns leave little surplus for tribals to plough it back into agriculture to improve the quality of the land.

Punjab peasantry is in the clutches of severe indebtedness. To overcome the problem of debt trap, effective measures should be taken by the government, social organisations and farming community. The government should exercise a strong check on the activities on non-institutional credit agencies and provide institutional credit facilities to the farming community at low rates of interest with easy repayment facilities. The co-operative sector should be developed/strengthened in the state.

One of the serious and unrelenting problems faced by the Indian farmers households has been indebtedness. Despite substantial improvement in agricultural output as well as distribution of credit through institutional sources since the introduction of the new agricultural technology, indebtedness among the farmers households is found to be widespread even today.

The eighth millennium development goal will determine the success of the other seven