-Mumbai Mirror The Modi government says it will double farmers’ real earnings by 2022, but so far, it has only delivered committees and reports. In early 2016, Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised to double farmers’ income by 2022, and the government subsequently set up an inter-ministerial committee led by Ashok Dalwai, additional secretary in the agriculture ministry, to prepare a roadmap. About two weeks ago, the committee submitted its fourteenth and final...

-Livemint.com Ecologist Madhav Gadgil, whose report on Western Ghats was rejected by the Kerala government, on what caused the Kerala floods and how the rebuilding process should be carried out Ernakulam (Kerala): Submitted seven years ago on 31 August 2011, ecologist Madhav Gadgil’s report on the biodiverse Western Ghats—a portion of which falls in Kerala—had warned that the combination of massive ecological destruction and extreme weather events trigger disaster. His words proved...

-Press Release by Shiv Nadar University New Delhi, 27th August, 2018: Shiv Nadar University (a comprehensive, multidisciplinary and research-focused institution) today hosted a National Water Conference at India International Centre to discuss issues related to the water crisis in India and identify the potential solutions to address the problem.  The implementation of a new policy paradigm with regards to the principles, approaches and strategies for managing water in India was one...

-The Indian Express Despite framing rules, proposing fines and starting ‘model colonies’, waste segregation in the capital has failed to take off. With mountains of garbage continuing to grow, The Indian Express reports on the challenges before authorities. The year 2015 was an eye-opener of sorts for Arpit Bhargava. Down with dengue, the lawyer started thinking about the link between waste and diseases. But thoughts gave way to action when he heard...

-Livemint.com Rural development secretary Amarjeet Sinha on how MGNREGS has evolved since 2006 to result in income, acreage, water tables, productivity and fodder availability Agrarian distress and rural distress are terms used interchangeably, but the rural economy today is very different from what it was many years ago, given the diversification of rural incomes and hence incorrect to think one means the other, says Amarjeet Sinha, secretary, ministry of rural development. In...