-The Indian Express Locusts normally arrive during July-October, but have already been spotted in Rajasthan. At a time India is battling Covid, they present a new worry with their potential for Exponential Growth and crop destruction. On April 11-12, scientists at the Locust Warning Organisation (LWO) observed groups of grasshoppers at Sri Ganganagar and Jaisalmer districts of Rajasthan. But far from ordinary hoppers, these were desert locusts — the same destructive migratory...

-The Telegraph Health authorities detected 2,411 new cases on Saturday, the first overnight spike, raising the number of Covid-19 patients to 37,776 India’s coronavirus epidemic remains on an Exponential Growth curve and not a linear curve as government officials had suggested last week, researchers and public health experts tracking the country’s rising Covid-19 counts said on Saturday. Health authorities detected 2,411 new cases on Saturday, the first overnight spike greater than 2,000, raising...

Most reports and studies by official agencies, international think tanks and private entities indicate the cataclysmic impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the economy and society. They anticipate that lockdowns imposed by various countries across the globe to reduce the exponential diffusion of COVID-19 (i.e. for flattening the curve by social distancing and quarantines) would adversely affect economic growth and disrupt supply chains in most sectors, on top of causing...

-Livemint.com An effective mass transit system for India’s large urban agglomerations can flourish only with adequate financing of buses, metros, and suburban rail Among the several services that haven’t been able to keep up with the Exponential Growth of Indian cities is public transportation. As transit is integral to living in cities, residents have resorted to purchasing private vehicles to get around, adding to an already-severe congestion crisis in our cities. The solution...

-The Times of India Manisha Verma, principal secretary, tribal development department, Maharashtra talks to Sugandha Indulkar about The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 and related issues, with today being World Tribal Day. * What’s the precise positioning of the tribal welfare departments at the Centre and states on FRA? This is a seminal legislation. The preamble to the Act itself states that it aims...