-The Telegraph The stimulator will use key epidemic-linked parameters to project the likelihood of a significant rise in daily new infections, allowing authorities time for preparatory steps India’s health research agency is set to release an online calculator to help States and districts project and prepare for fresh Covid-19 surges amid lingering uncertainty about the future course of the country’s epidemic. The calculator — or simulator — developed by the Indian Council of...

-The Hindu Environmental experts and politicians raise concern over Centre’s proposal. Given the widespread destruction of rainforests and native biodiversity caused by oil palm plantations in Southeast Asia, environmental experts and politicians are warning that the Centre’s move to promote their cultivation in India’s northeastern States and in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands could be disastrous. Other concerns include the impact on community ownership of tribal lands, as well as the fact that...

-Scroll.in The court's comments presage the delimitation of Parliamentary seats based on population due in 2026. Should every citizen’s vote possess equal weightage when it comes to having a voice in government? The answer in homogenous, unitary States – such as those found in Europe – is simple: yes. The question, however, becomes far more intractable when one is dealing with a large federation. And it becomes especially complicated if that federation is...

-The Hindu Poshan Swaraj Abhiyan initiative covers 750 tribal-dominated Rajasthan villages. Jaipur: Children and adolescents in 750 villages of the tribal-dominated Banswara district in Rajasthan have started receiving nutritious food as part of the Poshan Swaraj Abhiyan to strengthen their health status ahead of an impending third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. The campaign seeks to protect the most vulnerable among undernourished children. Banswara-based Vaagdhara, which works on tribal livelihood issues, has taken...

-Down to Earth Incentivising farmers to sell solar power as a remunerative crop can help reduce the usage of diesel pumps The irrigation-energy nexus in India's agriculture sector is characterised primarily by depleting groundwater and a growing debt burden of power distribution companies (DISCOM). This is due to massive power subsidies that remain underfunded by the States.   The Government of India (GoI) has been promoting solar irrigation pumps by offering substantial investment...