-Down to Earth 'Will the Indian government abandon mining projects to protect us?' ask residents of Singrauli who face displacement because of Mahan coal project Ever since India assumed presidency of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) on October 8, it has never missed a chance to reiterate its commitment to conserving biodiversity and protecting indigenous people and their traditional knowledge. Indian officials attending the ongoing CoP 11 meet at Hyderabad have...

-The United Nations Despite the growing number of nature reserves, national parks and other protected areas around the world, half of the globe’s richest biodiversity zones remain entirely unprotected, according to a United Nations report presented today. Amongst the report’s other main findings are that protected areas are being managed in a more equitable way, with a greater role for indigenous communities – but current investment in protected areas is only around...

-The Business Standard Cabinet decisions on fertiliser are not enough Of the two fertiliser-related decisions taken by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs at its recent meeting, the token hike of Rs 50 per tonne in urea prices is inconsequential, and the new mechanism for subsidising fertiliser is problematic. An increase of less than one per cent in urea prices will do little to bring down the subsidy bill or to reduce...

-The Business Standard China, India's nearest economic rival has the second best score in the world Despite steady economic growth and robust social sector spending, India's score in Global Hunger Index has returned back to the 1996 level raising questions over the speed at which it has brought down the proportion of undernourished people, underweight children and child mortality. According to the findings of the Global Hunger Index 2012 by  the International...

-The Times of India India ranks 65th out of 79 countries on the Global Hunger Index, a new report by the International Food Policy Research Institute, Welthungerhilfe and Concern Worldwide has said. The report has sharply criticized India for not moving fast enough to reduce malnourishment, and has said that its nutritional indicators are far worse than its economic indicators merit. India's ranking has not changed since 2011, when it was 67th...