-The Economic Times   All public data-from that on glacier meltdowns to monsoon charts to benami land--will be freely available at the click of a mouse with the launch of a national data portal next month. Modeled on US chief information officer Vivek Kundra's Data.gov.us project, the science and technology ministry's portal-- data.gov.in--aims to democratize data, and make the government more "open". "We plan to launch data.gov.in by next month. Once the National...

One more biodiversity project at Sindhudurg in Malvan, Maharastra The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has sanctioned a community-based natural resource management and mangrove conservation project in Godavari estuary, Andhra Pradesh, similar to the Gulf of Mannar Marine Conservation Project in Tamil Nadu. Speaking to The Hindu, Doley Tshering, Regional Technical Specialist, Ecosystems and Natural Resources, Regional Centre in Bangkok for Asia and the Pacific countries, who visited here recently, said...

Continuing with its social sector agenda, the Union Cabinet is expected to consider a proposal to provide health insurance to all workers under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS). The Cabinet will on Thursday consider a proposal to extent the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana to MGNREGS. The scheme, as of now, is applicable only below the poverty line families. Under the scheme implemented in Public Private Partnership mode,...

Every time the three irrigation canals of Prakasam Barrage, which pass through the city, are closed for the summer, the endangered species of pig-nosed turtles become easy prey. Though they are well-camouflaged in the slush and mud of the canal bed, poachers know where to look for them. Armed with a stick or rod, they keep poking until they hit the turtle's hard shell. Gaddam Yesu, who is still in his teens,...

India’s rulers have found a new vocation – maligning environmentalists and questioning the very idea of regulating industry for pollution. Thus, faced with criticism of Lavasa, an artificial gated city of the super-rich near Pune, in which his family has invested crores, Agriculture Minister, Sharad Pawar, lashed out at well-known activist Medha Patkar and other “vested interests” for obstructing this “pioneering” project. Lavasa’s promoters built the project without seeking environmental clearance...