Quite often it is argued by mainstream economists that a sizeable chunk of the Union Budget every year is wasted because the Government spends that on food and fertiliser subsidies. The burgeoning size of these two subsidies relative to the entire budget as well as the gross domestic product (GDP) is often used to build the argument that economic as well as environmental sustainability of the country is at stake...
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Make peace with nature now -Inger Andersen
-The Hindu This year can go down as the year when we set the planet on a path towards healing As COVID-19 upends our lives, a more persistent crisis demands urgent action on a global scale. Three environmental crises — climate change; nature loss; and the pollution of air, soil and water — add up to a planetary emergency that will cause far more pain than COVID-19 in the long-term. For years, scientists...
More »Kerala’s Mullaperiyar dam is a ‘ticking time bomb waiting to explode’ -Ranjit Devraj
-Scroll.in The 126-year-old barrage has dangerously outlived its 50 years of life. Perched high up in the Western Ghats, adjacent to Kerala’s famed Periyar wildlife sanctuary, is a 126-year-old dam that has dangerously outlived the 50 years of life intended for it by colonial British engineers. NK Premachandran, a member of parliament from Kerala, describes the 53.6 metre-high Mullaperiyar dam on the Periyar river as “a ticking timebomb waiting to explode, not only...
More »Bihar to change Kosi’s course to save ancient site, says Nitish -CK Manoj
-Down to Earth Government hasn’t learnt any lessons about a river known to change course itself, say environmentalists The Bihar government will try to divert the course of the mighty Kosi river in Bhagalpur district to save an archaeological site discovered recently, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said December 20, 2020. He made the announcement at Guwaradih village in Naugachhia sub-division of Bhagalpur district. Several priceless artefacts have been found at the site during...
More »Neither govt nor protesting farmers recognise challenge of depleting natural resources and climate crisis -Richa Kumar, Nikhit Kumar Agrawal, PS Vijayshankar and AR Vasavi
-The Indian Express If we truly want to ensure the livelihoods of our farmers and provide safe, healthy, nutritious food for our consumers, it is imperative to make policies that go beyond the productivity trope and populist posturing. Proponents of the three new farm laws have claimed that they will engender competition in agricultural markets and will give farmers a choice to sell wherever they like. The opponents of these laws, including...
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