-The Telegraph New Delhi: The Union environment ministry has released new draft rules to replace proposals from last year that would have banned the sale of cattle for slaughter in animal markets and had stunned the livestock industry and prompted the Centre to rethink the move. The ministry on April 5 notified draft rules to supersede its May 2017 draft rules that would have required sellers and purchasers to declare that cattle...

-The Hindu Business Line Seek ban on import of formulations; want trials before allowing them Hyderabad: Pesticide manufacturers and farmers are up in arms against the provisions of the Pesticides Management Bill 2017, which, they believe are detrimental to agriculture and agro-chemical industry. Allowing import of formulations without having to register technicals is contrary to the goal of Make in India campaign launched by the Union government, they said. They want an immediate ban...

-The Hindu The draft Forest Policy re-emphasises production forestry, raising many ecological and social concerns Government policy documents are statements of goals, priorities and strategies. If old strategies have failed or circumstances have changed, they should be revised. Given that our Forest Policy was last revised in 1988, changes are perhaps overdue. The new draft Forest Policy 2018, however, ignores the lessons from this period and returns to the state-managed forestry of...

-Livemint.com The current National Forest Policy dates back to 1988 before India’s economic liberalization started and now the government wants a revision, as it perceives a decline in corporate investments into the forest sector New Delhi: Imagine two scenarios. One is a natural forest, nature’s complex multi-layered ecosystem and a landscaped home to 80% of all terrestrial biodiversity where thousands of species of plants, animals and microorganisms interact and thrive. The second...

-The Economic Times KOLKATA: Charges for SMS alerts on banking transactions may not squeeze account holders much but can be a reasonable earning for many banks, especially in accounts with meagre monthly transactions though income from SMS alert service goes against the advisory from the sector regulator. While Reserve Bank of India told banks to send SMS alerts for every transaction as means to fight frauds, the regulator also directed banks to...