-Down to Earth The government will use its extensive network of women’s self-help groups to encourage the transition. The Andhra Pradesh government announced financial support to more than 70,000 women from scheduled castes (SC) to promote natural farming among marginal farmers. Natural farming excludes the application of chemicals and promotes traditional agricultural practices. It is regarded as particularly useful for smallholder farmers as it reduces dependency on purchased inputs.   A one-time subsidy of...

-Down to Earth Blaming farmers alone won’t work; prices for crops other than paddy must be remunerative The Election Commission has announced the dates for Assembly elections in five states of the country including Punjab. The atmosphere regarding the Assembly elections is getting more and more dramatic every day. As in many previous Assembly elections, promises, claims and new promises are being made and repeated by the various political parties to win...

-Down to Earth A lot needs to be done to ensure faecal sludge is treated before reaching water source Are we losing focus of the Prime Minister’s dream project Swachh Bharat Mission (grameen)? Whatever the answer is, the fact is we cannot afford to do so.  In October 2019, rural India was declared open-defecation free. By this, the department of drinking water and sanitation under the Union Ministry of Jal Shakti meant that...

-Down to Earth Experts express concern, point at state pollution control board for poor implementation The National Green Tribunal (NGT) January 18, 2021 ordered 15 chemical industrial units in Haryana to remain shut for flouting green norms. The companies were manufacturing formaldehyde without environmental clearance (EC) and requisite safeguards. Out of the 15 industrial units, 10 are located in Yamuna Nagar district, two in Jhajjar, two in Karnal and one in Ambala. These water-guzzling...

-Down to Earth Around 70% cyclones in the area from 1961-2020 were severe West Bengal’s South 24 Parganas district, within which the larger share of the Sundarbans is located, is impacted by cyclones the most frequently among Indian districts, found a recent study. The return period of cyclonic storms in the district was 1.67 years on a scale of 1.5 to 60 years, according to the analysis by India Meteorological Department (IMD), Pune....