-TheWeek.in Noted ecologist Madhav Gadgil blames the “law-flouting” state government for the devastation in Kerala. The Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP), headed by Gadgil in 2011, had suggested measures to preserve the ecologically frail Ghats. But, the Kerala government, like the other five states, chose to reject the report. Having suffered such devastation, Gadgil feels that the state should survey the “ecologically sensitive zones” that have been compromised due to...

-Press Release by Shiv Nadar University New Delhi, 27th August, 2018: Shiv Nadar University (a comprehensive, multidisciplinary and research-focused institution) today hosted a National Water Conference at India International Centre to discuss issues related to the water crisis in India and identify the potential solutions to address the problem.  The implementation of a new policy paradigm with regards to the principles, approaches and strategies for managing water in India was one...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: The Congress on Monday demanded that the State Bank of India declare the Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation bankrupt as it sought to puncture holes into "dream merchant" Narendra Modi's "Mr Clean" IMAge, armed with an RBI circular on Resolution of Stressed Assets. Senior party leader Jairam Ramesh said the February 12 Reserve Bank circular mandated that any company that owed more than Rs 2,000 crore to banks on...

-Scroll.in Raghav Chandra, secretary of the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes, says displaced Adivasis should not only be compensated with money but land as well. The National Commission for Scheduled Tribes has been quite proactive in the last few months. It has prevailed upon the central government to withdraw orders that it thought “diluted” tribal rights, asked states to return “unfairly acquired tribal lands”, and reminded governors of their powers to...

A recent report by the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) enlightens one about the state of farmers' income and indebtedness in 2015-16. Entitled NABARD All India Rural Financial Inclusion Survey 2016-17 – in short NAFIS 2016-17 – the report says that between 2012-13 and 2015-16 the average monthly income for agricultural households grew by around 39 percent. One may recall that the Key Indicators of Situation Assessment Survey...