-The Hindu Business Line The Karnataka government’s efforts to popularise millet cultivation seem to be yielding results, thanks to a rising consumer demand based on awareness about healthy alternatives. Krishna Byre Gowda, Karnataka’s Agriculture Minister, cited drought, climate change and erratic monsoon as the driving factors for popularising millets such as ragi, jowar and bajra. These are less Water-intensive crops compared to paddy or sugarcane and a shift to millet cultivation will help...

-Down to Earth Successive droughts lead to a substantial and unsustainable expansion of cropland at the expense of forested lands “Droughts are misery in slow motion” with impacts even deeper than previously believed. Although floods pose major economic threats, Water scarcity and drought may be causing long-term harm in ways that are poorly understood and inadequately documented, claims Uncharted Waters: the new economics of Water scarcity and variability, a report by...

-Livemint.com The draft guidelines propose to levy a new Water conservation fee based on quantum of groundWater extracted With the aim of completely changing the way groundWater is managed, the central government has proposed guidelines which stipulate that all industries, mining and infrastructure deWatering projects—whether existing or new—that draw or propose to draw groundWater will now need to obtain a no-objection certificate (NOC). The draft guidelines, reviewed by Mint, also propose to levy...

-CivilSocietyOnline.com Vikas Gando Thayo Chhe" which means ‘development has gone mad’ is a super hit song these days in Gujarat. In the just concluded garba festival, this song was hugely popular throughout Gujarat. The song became popular even before Prime Minister Narendra Modi celebrated his birthday on 7 September by declaring completion of an incomplete Sardar Sarovar Project (SSP), heaping totally unnecessary, unjustified and unjust displacement on 40,000 families in the...

-PTI The Water level in 91 major reservoirs across the country has risen to 70% of their total storage capacity from 68% last week, says government New Delhi: The Water level in 91 major reservoirs across the country has risen to 70% of their total storage capacity from 68% last week, the government said ton Friday. As of 12 October, the Water storage in the reservoirs was 107.28 billion cubic metres (BCM). It...