-IANS The government is planning to set up a Rs.40,000-crore flexi-fund to help states address specific rural Development needs. The fund will be available to states from the next financial year till the end of the 12th Five-Year Plan in March 2017. The central government will have a 70 per cent share in the fund. "For the first time, we are putting together a flexi-fund of Rs.40,000 crore that will be available to...

-Outlook Mumbai: Seeking to corner the opposition on Maharashtra's irrigation scam, the Nationalist Congress Party demanded today that a white paper should cover functioning of all irrigation corporations in the state since its inception during the Sena-BJP government. Addressing a press conference, NCP spokesman Nawab Malik said that the Krishna Valley Development Corporation, Konkan Irrigation Development Corporation (KIDC), Tapi Irrigation Development Corporation (TIDC), Vidarbha Irrigation Development Corporation (VIDC) and Godavari Marathwada Irrigation...

Rising corn prices in the United States brought about by biofuel mandates have cost developing countries 6.6 billion dollars over the past six years, says a study by Global Development And Environment Institute at Tufts University (GDAE).  Net Food Importing Developing Countries, among the most vulnerable to food price increases, incurred ethanol-related costs of $2.1 billion, the study concludes. (See highlights and the links below). The recent spike in world food prices...

-Outlook Hyderabad: New approaches such as Public Private Partnerships(PPP) and community-based activities would go a long way in maintaining healthy ecosystems and improving livelihoods, a senior World Bank official said here today. Observing that there is not enough public money to invest in the biodiversity needs of the world, Rachel Kyte, World Bank Vice President for Sustainable Development, said new approaches are needed to finance nature conservation efforts. The World Bank has a...

-Outlook Hyderabad: In a unique initiative to recognise outstanding work in biodiversity conservation at the grass roots level, the Union Government and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) have jointly presented awards to models of biodiversity governance from across the country. The awards were presented to the representatives of the winners at a ceremony held on the sidelines of the ongoing UN convention on biological diversity here last night. A press release from...