-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Uncontrolled burning of paddy stubbles by Punjab farmers appears to be again putting the health of residents in the National Capital Region at risk, with Delhi's air quality falling sharply in the past two days even as farm fires peak in Punjab. Since Saturday, Delhi's air quality index has dramatically dropped by 60-80 points and is now inching towards the 'very poor' zone, when children are...

-The Hindu Business Line The entire tea industry in India faces an uncertain future. And young people don’t want to work in tea gardens anymore After a steady run for nearly a decade, the tea industry is now facing tough times. Both, production of gardens in the organised sector and leaf prices are virtually stagnating. And exports no longer hold out much promise. Between January and July this year, all-India production was 553.21...

-The Hindu Aims to create awareness on judicious and proper use of pesticides The Government has taken several measures for proper use of pesticides by the farmers. The Ministry of Agriculture has stated in a release that pesticide residue data generated under the “Monitoring of Pesticide Residues at National Level” are shared with State Governments and concerned ministries/organisations to initiate the corrective action for judicious and proper use of pesticides on crops with...

-The Statesman The toxicity of pesticides to humans, their ability to remain in the environment and accumulate in products require the establishment of strict scientifically substantiated regulations for their safe application. In India, the rules for using pesticides are worked out together by the Union ministries for agriculture and health. Every year, an approved “List of Chemical and Biological Means for Controlling Pests, Plant Diseases and Weeds Allowed to be used...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: "Our lungs have not yet fully developed and we cannot take further pollution through bursting of crackers," said three infants in their petition before the Supreme Court seeking a ban on crackers this Dussehra and Diwali besides a host of measures like implementation of Bharat V norms for vehicles to arrest the capital's worsening air quality. In a first of its kind petition in judicial history,...