-The Times of India NEW DELHI: All banking Institutions in India may soon chip in to increase India's forest cover in a coordinated manner. If the environment ministry has its way, all banks will be asked to join the central and the state governments in their ongoing efforts of afforestation. The move will be part of one of the 10 ways, identified by the Centre, to reach India's key climate goal. As...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The government has decided to focus on over 500 autonomous bodies -from the University Grants Commission and Jawahar Lal Nehru University to Delhi Development Authority, Prasar Bharati and CSIR -and has asked Niti Aayog to review the performance of these entities that have mushroomed over the years with little oversight. Sources told TOI that Niti Aayog has been entrusted the task as the government looks to...

-The Hindu Business Line The NITI Aayog should revive district-level planning in order to implement the 73rd and 74th Amendments to the Constitution While the Planning Commission, which was virtually an executive arm of the Union government, stands abolished, the District Planning Committee (DPC), a constitutional institution mandated “to prepare a draft development plan for the district as a whole” with a focus on resource endowments, environmental conservation, infrastructural development and spatial...

-PTI LONDON: India has seen "dramatic" improvements in the opportunities available to the girl child, a United Nations report said while showcasing the country as an example to be replicated worldwide for bettering the condition of their youthful populations. However, 'The State of World Population 2016' report by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) warned that practices that harm girls and violate their human rights, starting at age 10, prevent them from...

Expanding irrigation network in the country is considered as essential to raise agricultural production in the face of increased frequency of droughts. However, a newly released report from the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare shows that there has actually been a fall in the growth rate of net irrigated area during the recent two decades. The report entitled State of Indian Agriculture 2015-16 reveals that the growth rate in...