-The Times of India KOLKATA: The climate adaptation wing of WWF-India is currently working on a pilot project to transform van rickshaws, a highly polluting and illegal commuter and goods carrier popularly used in semi-urban and rural Bengal, into an environment-friendly and legitimate Mode of transport. "We are working towards a viable alternative to the mechanized van rickshaws that currently run on diesel and kerosene and are extremely polluting. Battery operated...

-Down to Earth Delisting fruits and vegetables from APMC Act in Congress-ruled states will not benefit farmers Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi last December said fruits and vegetables will become affordable if states allowed farmers to directly sell their produce to consumers. He also directed the chief ministers in Congress-ruled states to delist fruits and vegetables from the Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) Act. The Act makes it mandatory for farmers to sell...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Delhi no longer seems to be a preferred place of work for women who have from other parts of the country. A survey has found that as many as 43% of them are looking for jobs outside the city, even if it means a cut in salary, primarily because of Delhi's unsafe environment. These shocking facts were revealed in a survey conducted by the PHD Chamber...

-The Economic Times PUNE: India is still the largest producer of organic cotton in the world, accounting for two-third of the global organic cotton production. But, the total organic fibre production of the country has fallen by close to 50% as global brands shift to Better Cotton Initiative (BCI). A marketing-driven green alternative to conventional cotton grown using chemicals, BCI is growing rapidly and getting premium over the conventional cotton. From...

-The Business Standard Chandigarh: Worried over diminishing returns from small holdings in the state, young and educated farmers in Punjab with an entrepreneurial streak are venturing into commercial dairy farming. The farmers say that a commercial dairy farm gives them high returns compared with conventional agriculture on small land-holdings, which is proving unsustainable. There are about 6,000 progressive dairy farmers in Punjab and the state has more such farmers than any other...