-Hindustan Times According to the Central Ground Water Board’s 2019 report, state tops the country in over-exploitation of groundwater at 79% Patiala: The proposed reduction in the area to be covered under traditional water-guzzling paddy in Punjab this year Due to labour shortage is likely to give some respite to already depleting groundwater table in the state. As per the target set by the state agriculture department, the department is expecting to reduce...
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Members of PM’s COVID-19 task force say lockdown failed Due to unscientific implementation -Vidya Krishnan and Aathira Konikkara
-CaravanMagazine.in On 17 May, for the third time since the COVID-19 pandemic began, the Narendra Modi administration extended India’s lockdown—one of the harshest across the world. For the third time, the Indian government did so without seeking scientific inputs from a national task force constituted to advise the central government on its pandemic response, according to multiple members of the team of scientists. There was a consensus among members we spoke...
More »Post-COVID there is a case for a greener GNP -Ganesan Balachander
-Mongabay.com * The COVID-19 pandemic has shown up major fault lines in our development trajectory and one of the issues is how we account for growth and progress with the gross national product (GNP) calculated as a single bottom line, without paying heed to the ecological, environmental and social costs. * Air and water pollution have been shown to add a significant cost to India’s GNP. A greener GNP will take these...
More »Once Derided by Modi, Boost to MGNREGS Shows it's One of Rural India's Few Safety Nets -Kabir Agarwal
-TheWire.in The increased allocation is welcome, but experts say the government should also work to solve pending liability issues and other techno-bureaucratic problems that hold back its effectiveness. New Delhi: On Sunday, while announcing the fifth and final tranche of the Centre’s COVID-19 economic relief package, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced that the government will be allocating an additional Rs 40,000 crore under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS). “It...
More »Will Indian Agriculture Come out Relatively Unscathed in FY'21? -Siraj Hussain and Jugal Mohapatra
-TheWire.in The outlook for kharif 2020 contains a few good signs, but much will depend on the monsoon. Since the harvesting of most rabi crops was completed in time, despite the nationwide lockdown from March 24 onwards, an impression has gained ground that all is well with Indian agriculture. It is true that Due to extraordinary efforts made by government machinery, procurement of wheat in Punjab, Haryana and Madhya Pradesh has been more...
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