-The Hindustan Times ‘Himalayan Glaciers will disappear by 2035'. This was one the very alarming conclusions of the Nobel Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) that was brought to my attention when I took over as minister for environment and forests in May 2009. Could this really be true, I wondered. I then decided to convene a series of meetings with experts from different institutions across the country. And what...
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Need to focus on minimum living incomes for farmers -Kavitha Kuruganti
-Deccan Herald The National Crime Records Bureau's Data for 2013 is out, and farm suicides are pegged at 11,772 -- not very different from the earlier years.Many activists point out how these figures are in fact under-reported. In a country where the cultivators' numbers are plummeting drastically as the Census 2011 Data shows, this unabated trend of farm suicides is something that any government should take note of. The central aspect to this...
More »Farmers using batteries of tractor to run tubewells -Gurpreet Singh Chhina
-The Hindustan Times Fatehgarh Sahib (Punjab): With power crisis worsening in Punjab, farmers in the region have turned to innovations such as using tractor batteries and generators to run tube wells for irrigation. Saying that paddy required plenty of water for cultivation, the farmers claimed the power cuts crippled water supply. On Friday, the PSPCL had decided to reduce power supply to farmers by two hours in order to facilitate better supply...
More »Centre's ultimatum to Bihar for lifting backlog of foodgrains
-PTI Says there are serious deficiencies in the action plan presented by state govt for lifting foodgrains of about 700,000 tonnes meant for PDS Criticising the Bihar government for not lifting foodgrains allotted to the state for public distribution, the Centre has given it an ultimatum to complete the exercise by August 31. In a letter to Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, Union Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan said there are "serious...
More »India needs more than Narendra Modi's trickle-down model -Maitreesh Ghatak
-The Guardian India's PM points to Gujarat as an emblem of economic success. But despite impressive growth, the state lags behind on welfare Narendra Modi has just unveiled his first budget after winning a massive electoral victory on a development platform. The budget presented last week has disappointed those who were expecting stronger signals about a pro-market shift in economic policy, as well as in the stock market. However, the budget has...
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