-The Indian Express Delhi air pollution: The current smog and poor air quality in the National Capital Region has been blamed in part on stubble burning by farmers, especially in neighbouring Punjab and Haryana. What is the genesis of the problem? What are its potential solutions? * How widespread is crop stubble burning? It is mainly confined to Punjab, Haryana and parts of western Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, where farmers grow paddy and...

-The Indian Express While the top ranks continue to be held by the Nordic countries of Iceland, Norway and Finland, Bangladesh, at 47th position, holds the highest rank in South Asia. INDIA HAS been ranked a low 108 out of 144 countries on the gender equality scale, slipping from 87 last year, according to the Global Gender Gap Index (2017) released by the World Economic Forum (WEF) on Thursday. While the top ranks...

-Livemint.com The draft guidelines propose to levy a new water conservation fee based on quantum of groundwater extracted With the aim of completely changing the way groundwater is managed, the central government has proposed guidelines which stipulate that all industries, mining and infrastructure dewatering projects—whether existing or new—that draw or propose to draw groundwater will now need to obtain a no-objection certificate (NOC). The draft guidelines, reviewed by Mint, also propose to levy...

-Livemint.com World Bank has reduced its India GDP growth forecast to 7% for 2017-18 from 7.2%, blaming disruptions caused by demonetisation and GST New Delhi: After remaining the world’s fastest-growing region for eight consecutive quarters, South Asia has slipped to the third position behind East Asia and the Pacific regions, as India’s economy slowed to its lowest level in 13 quarters, the World Bank said on Monday. This is at a time when...

-The Indian Express Global study ranks India 100th of 119 counties, worse than Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka. India ranks a low 100th out of 119 countries on the Global Hunger Index (GHI) released Thursday. On the GHI severity scale, India is at the high end of the “serious” category, owing mainly to the fact that one in every five children under age 5 is “wasted” (low weight for height). With 21% of...