-Deccan Herald Water in India has now become a contentious issue due to rise in demand, climate change and growing mismanagement. With erratic rainfall and recurring droughts in 2012, 2015 and 2016, “water saving” has become a high priority for the governments. As the agriculture sector consumes 80% of freshwater in the country, micro-irrigation –  drip and sprinkler irrigation – has been catapulted as a policy priority because drip and sprinkler irrigation...

-The Hindu Business Line The NITI Aayog should revive district-level planning in order to implement the 73rd and 74th Amendments to the Constitution While the Planning Commission, which was virtually an executive arm of the Union government, stands abolished, the District Planning Committee (DPC), a constitutional institution mandated “to prepare a draft development plan for the district as a whole” with a focus on resource endowments, environmental conservation, infrastructural development and spatial...

-IANS New Delhi: With current availability of water per person per year in India placed at roughly 1,745 cubic metres, experts have called for trans-boundary water governance to tackle the water-stressed situation and, keeping climate change in mind, creation of a water infrastructure. India in 2016 faced one of its worst droughts in decades which affected almost 330 million people. "As per studies conducted two years back, 1,745 cubic metre per person...

-The Financial Express There are several facets to India’s weak pulse economy. Nevertheless, it is a glorious moment for the country as pulse production is expected around 22 million tonnes in FY17 surpassing all previous records. According to the initial estimates of the agriculture ministry, kharif production will reach 8.2 million tonnes against 5.4 million tonnes recorded in the last fiscal. This would be possible due to higher allocation of land to...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh -- traditionally tagged as 'Bimaru' states -- have made major progress in urban municipal reforms in recent years, while Delhi has not submitted any claim of reforms. States such as Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat, which have always performed better, lead from the front again in the assessment by the urban development ministry. The assessment is based...