-Newslaundry.com It also spent a total of Rs 490 crore on ads in 2021-22 alone. In 2020, the Delhi government announced with much fanfare a new strategy to tackle the issue of stubble burning – a bio-decomposer developed by the Indian Agriculture Research Institute (Pusa). Newslaundry had reported how a pilot project was launched in 2020, allegedly covering 1,900 acres of farmland across 39 villages. Last October, the government announced it would spray...

-Down to Earth The world has a new ‘water-scarce’ generation growing up, with women and girls spending as much as 40% of their calorific intake carrying water in dry lands The frequency and duration of drought is increasing at an alarming rate across the world since the onset of the 21st century, according to the Drought in Numbers, 2022 report released May 11 at the ongoing 15th Conference of Parties (CoP15) to...

-TheWire.in * The proposed Biological Diversity (Amendment) Bill 2021 encourages a conducive environment for investments and to simplify the patent application process. * Farmers in India have historically been against any kind of IP rights – whether patents or plant variety protection over seed and planting materials. * In a confused mix of laws, the government also grants IP rights to BMCs for farmers’ varieties – formed under the Biological Diversity Act –...

-The Tribune Experts urge the government to be cautious on wheat export, suggest an upper cap, say traders dictating markets New Delhi: Wheat production in the country is down due to “early summers”, the government’s procurement has reduced and the prices of ‘atta’ and byproducts like bread, rusks and biscuits are rising by the day. While the government is calling increasing exports as “beneficial” for farmers, experts are advocating “caution”, including imposing...

-Bengal Development Collective Migration has been an essential component of socio-economic and political change. People move away from their birthplace in search of a better livelihood, a safer neighbourhood, or a more inclusive society. Migration is a big indicator of the existing social and economic disparities between the place of origin and the migrant’s destination. As economic centres become centres for migrants, they gain access to cheaper labour, bolstering their own...