-The Times of India NEW DELHI: At a time when the government is pushing the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, the fire at Delhi's largest landfill site only highlights the magnitude of India's garbage problem. Bhalswa -- the landfill that caught fire -- had crossed the permissible height by at least 30 meters as per the norms laid by environment ministry. In the last two decades, Indian cities have seen a rising tide of...

-The Hindu On the need for action-oriented research in development policy A whole new way of looking at poverty and development policy is taking shape in the world of economics. Traditionally understood as meagreness of material resources, there is a growing realisation that poverty also depletes mental resources. Understanding of how poverty impacts behaviour, what the absence of resources does to a person’s mindset can vitaminise the poverty-fighting policy toolkit. Insights, well-designed qualitative...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) rapped the Delhi government on Friday for going ahead with odd-even traffic restrictions at a time the air quality appeared to be improving, and said it could 'stay' the scheme during a special hearing on Saturday if the government failed to prove that the restrictions were effective. Questioned the rationale behind the Delhi government's move, the NGT pointed to data from...

-The Indian Express Delhi air pollution: The current smog and poor air quality in the National Capital Region has been blamed in part on stubble burning by farmers, especially in neighbouring Punjab and Haryana. What is the genesis of the problem? What are its potential solutions? * How widespread is crop stubble burning? It is mainly confined to Punjab, Haryana and parts of western Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, where farmers grow paddy and...

-The Times of India BONN (Germany): India is the sixth most vulnerable country in the world in terms of facing extreme weather events with Haiti, Zimbabwe, Fiji, Sri Lanka and Vietnam taking top five positions in the fresh list of nations facing climate risk. The ranking was released here by the Germanwatch, an independent Berlin-based development and environmental organisation, on Thursday in its latest global climate risk index (CRI). The Index put...