-The Hindu Wetlands need to be reinforced as more than just open sources of water. How they are identified and conserved requires a rethink The government is all set to change the rules on wetlands. The Draft Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2016, which will replace the Wetland (Conservation and Management) Rules of 2010, seek to give power to the States to decide what they must do with their wetlands. This includes...

-The Times of India New Delhi: Aiming to motivate farmers to grow more pulses, the government on Wednesday hiked the minimum support price (MSP) of arhar, urad and moong by up to Rs 425 per quintal for the kharif season starting September. It also announced bonus on oilseeds while making a modest increase of Rs 60 in paddy MSP to Rs 1,470 per quintal. Both agriculture minister Radha Mohan Singh and consumer...

-PTI New Delhi: A network of voluntary organisations under the banner of Wada Na Todo Abhiyan (WNTA) in its report today claimed that there had been no progress on anti-corruption laws in the country and that there have been concerted attempt to undermine existing legislations and mechanisms. The Report titled 'Citizens report on 2nd year of NDA government: Promises and Reality', on the performance of Narendra Modi led NDA government which is...

-The Indian Express Mining has the distinction of being the most dangerous profession in India. Industry insiders concede that official numbers could be much lower than the actual deaths that take place deep inside the mines. Progressive improvements in the safety standard of India’s coal mines notwithstanding, every ten days last year there was a mining fatality in the country. And every third day last year, on an average, there was...

Situation alarming: More than one-third population hit by drought   The country is facing severe drought for the second consecutive year. Conservative estimates from official sources show that over a quarter of rural habitations are facing drinking water scarcity. Although both India Meteorological Department and Skymet have predicted a more than normal rainfall during June-September, 2016, the water storage available in 91 major reservoirs of the country has declined from 22 percent...