-The Economic Times BHUBANESWAR: The Supreme Court’s landmark order imposing an estimated Rs 25,000 crore penalty on iron ore and manganese miners in Odisha continues to rattle the sector, with serious implications for mining operations across the country and clearances obtained in the past. The 144-page order has given ammunition to green activists to seek court orders against mines in Goa and other states, and strengthened their case in ongoing matters in...

-Centre for Science and Environment New Delhi: Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) released here today the first detailed independent evaluation and analysis of the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) – government’s flagship national agricultural insurance programme. Across the world, agriculture insurance is recognised as an important part of the safety net for farmers to deal with the impacts of extreme and unseasonal weather due to climate change. Releasing the report...

-Down to Earth New norms for declaring drought are too stringent to be practical and are indicative of Centre’s intention to pass on the financial burden to states Karnataka government has opposed Centre’s move to change parameters for drought assessment. The new manual for drought management limits Centre’s scope to offer financial assistance to states in the eventuality of drought. Unlike the 2009 manual for drought management—which was a mere guideline...

-TheWire.in The government knows what it wants to achieve where the environment is concerned, even if it is at the cost of the protection of ecosystems, and people’s livelihood and well being. The last three years under the Modi government have seen the transformation of the environment from being a field of relative stability and inactivity, to functioning as an active instrument of capital accumulation. The sharp polarisation between extremely positive initiatives...

-Hindustan Times More and more farmers are falling into debt trap because farming is no longer profitable and big-ticket infrastructure projects are taking away their lands. Nasik: Shantaram Waghchowre’s worries are multiplying. Already hit by plunging prices for the crops he grows in his five-acre family farm in Maharashtra’s Pimpalgaon Dukre village of Nasik district, he is now staring at abject penury. The state government is set to acquire 50,000 acres of land...