-The Indian Express Despite deforestation and human encroachment, the country’s forest cover has remained stable around 20% since Independence. This is because the loss of natural old-growth forests is compensated on paper by expanding monoculture plantations. Since Independence, a fifth of India’s land has consistently been under forests. The population has increased more than three times since 1947, and from 1951-80, a total 42,380 sq km of forestland was diverted — some...

-The Indian Express Modi government’s decision to hike import duty on edible oils has come too little, too late for soyabean farmers Latur: Arun Kulkarni planted soyabean on 10 out of his 14-acre holding in the recent kharif season and harvested 65 quintals of the crop towards September-end. But unlike most of his neighbours, this farmer from Tandulja village in Latur — Maharashtra’s largest soyabean-growing district and the country’s No. 2...

-Livemint.com BJP-led central government has raised import duties on a range of edible oils, ahead of the crucial Gujarat assembly elections New Delhi: Ahead of the crucial Gujarat assembly elections, the centre last week raised import duties on a range of edible oils, in a bid to support growers who are bearing losses due to plunging domestic prices. On 17 November, India, the largest importer of edible oils globally, raised import duties on...

-Scroll.in The price of petrol and diesel remains as high even though the cost of importing crude oil has halved from 2011. In 2011 when the cost of oil being imported by India was averaging above $100 per barrel, the retail price that citizens paid for petrol in Delhi averaged Rs 65 per litre. But today, when the cost of importing oil is substantially lower at an average of $50 per...

-Livemint.com A cow cess of even Re.1 per litre of petrol will be enough to generate funds that will exceed the entire annual budgets of several Union ministries About two weeks ago, Subramanian Swamy, a Rajya Sabha member from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) called for a cow cess of Re1 on petrol to fund gaushalas or cow shelters across the country. Swamy made the comment towards the end of his speech...