-PTI/ NDTV.com Officials at the World Health Organization recently warned that Omicron may not be the last Covid variant and the next strain could be more contagious. New Delhi: The fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in India may start around June 22 and peak from mid-to-late August, a modelling study by researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology-Kanpur suggests. The yet-to-be peer-reviewed study, recently posted on the preprint repository MedRxiv, used a...

-The Tribune Minimising paddy straw burning needs multi-pronged and eco-friendly approaches. There is no single solution to manage its massive quantities. All on-field and off-field technologies have limitations. Combined, they would improve soil health, grain production and fertiliser-use efficiency, reduce pollution, and ensure long-term agriculture sustainability. Concerted efforts are needed to make eco-friendly techniques economically viable, especially for small farmers. WITH mechanised farming and assured irrigation, farmers of northwest India raise 2-3...

-HeraldGoa.in As per Section 30, Schedule I of the MGNREGA Act, the States are mandated to appoint an Ombudsperson for each district for receiving grievances, enquiring and passing awards as per the guidelines of the Ministry of Rural Development PANJIM: The Government of India has warned Goa and other States that it will not release funds for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee (MGNREGA) schemes from next financial year if they...

-Newsclick.in CM Mamata Banerjee has started handing over compensation packages, but SKM and other outfits have accused it of bypassing holding of gram sabhas. Kolkata: The Deocha-Pachami-Dewanganj-Harisingha (DPDH) coal block under Mohammed Bazar Development Block in Birbhum district is fast becoming a “symbol of the West Bengal government’s high-handedness”. So much so that local residents, a large number of whom are adivasis/santhals, are being cautious in airing their concerns about the proposed...

-Newsclick.in Slope destabilisation, soil erosion and sequestered carbon loss have increased, according to Ravi Chopra. Noted Dehradun-based environmentalist Ravi Chopra recently resigned as the chairman of the Supreme Court (SC)-appointed High Powered Committee (HPC) overseeing the environmental impact of the Narendra Modi government’s Rs 12,000 crore 889-km Char Dham highway widening project in Uttarakhand.  The Char Dham project, one of the largest road-widening projects in the Himalayan region, intends to connect the four...