-The Times of India   "Ma Ganga aur Benares se mera rishta purana hai," BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi said, pledging his intent to restore the Ganga to its original glory while campaigning in Varanasi. Plans to clean up the 2,500 km holy river too date back to older times -the first Ganga Action Plan was announced in 1986 - but activists claim the stretch flowing through Varanasi is in worse...

-Live Mint To alleviate poverty and extend true food security to its people India must bring efficiency to public expenditures In the Indian economy, where almost half of the average household's expenditures goes toward food and half the labour force is engaged in agriculture, one cannot simply wish away the centrality of agriculture just because its contribution to gross domestic product (GDP) hovers around a comparatively low 14%. India's agriculture is responsible...

-The Telegraph Shillong: The National Green Tribunal has ordered a stop to rat-hole coal mining across Meghalaya and it observed that neither the government nor the people were benefiting from "illegal mining" except the "coal mafias" while warning against illegal transportation of the mineral. This is the latest instance that a national authority has intervened in the traditional and unscientific form of coal mining that has been the order of the day...

-The Business Standard   International organisations recognise the impending shortage of potable water but their approach is entirely wrong During this year's gathering in Davos, the World Economic Forum released its ninth annual Global Risks report, which relies on a survey of more than 700 business leaders, government officials and non-profit actors to identify the world's most serious risks in the next decade. Perhaps most remarkably, four of the 10 threats listed this...

-Thomson Reuters Foundation The lastest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report not only provides new evidence but also sounds an alarm over the impact climate change is having on compounding hunger and significantly disrupting food grain production. Apart from leaving the world hungry and hot, the changing climate will also offset gains against poverty and hunger, especially among the marginalized communities. The new report makes unequivocal projections for India being one...