-The Indian Express Proposing a complete overhaul of the existing environmental governance framework, a government-appointed expert committee has recommended measures that would make it easier to set up industrial or infrastructure projects, but would also ensure that those who flout pollution norms or violate green laws are penalised heavily. Among the measures suggested by the four-member committee headed by former Cabinet Secretary T S R Subramanian are: creation of new institutions...

-Reuters   The panel says hydro-power plants has led to the build up of huge volumes of sediment in rivers that is not managed properly New Delhi: Badly managed hydro-power projects in northern India were partly to blame for devastating floods last year that killed thousands of people and caused extensive damage, an environment ministry panel said in a report obtained by Reuters on Tuesday.   The panel findings highlight the problem facing India, one...

-The Times of India   TABO (LAHAUL-SPITI): "At last they entered a world - a valley of leagues where the high hills were fashioned of the mere rubble and refuse from off the knees of the mountains... Surely the Gods live here. Beaten down by the silence and the appalling sweep of dispersal of the cloud-shadows after rain. This place is no place for men." This was what Rudyard Kipling had said...

-The Business Standard     Institutions such as World Bank and Asian Development Bank (ADB) are considered the panacea of all ills that developing countries like India face. Although the amount of money these institutions lend is small, their influence on the economy is high. They continue to be the benchmark for social and environmental policies, good governance, climate change, corruption and so on. A look at some of the reports of these...

-AgriculturesNetwork.org The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to food, Olivier De Schutter, today calls for radical transformation of the world's food systems. The emphasis in agricultural policy should shift from productivity to "well-being, resilience and sustainability", he says. This morning De Schutter presented his final report to the UN Human Rights Council after a six-year term as Special Rapporteur. In February, he also presented some of his findings at...