-Down to Earth As many as 250 crows in Rajasthan, 1,700 migratory birds in Himachal Pradesh have died since December 2020 The Union Ministry of Environment, Science and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) has ordered a strict vigil on the wintering habitats of migratory birds for any sign of a flu outbreak in the backdrop of rising deaths of birds. The ministry issued a set of guidelines January 3, 2021 in view of Himachal Pradesh...

-Down to Earth As many as 2,067 lives lost to floods in India through the year, the highest in the world due to climate change-induced events Floods and Cyclone Amphan in India accounted for maximum loss of lives globally due to climate change-triggered events in 2020. The cyclone, which ravaged Sunderbans in the southern fringe of West Bengal and hinterland including Kolkata in May 2020, led to “the biggest displacement” in world...

-Down to Earth Government hasn’t learnt any lessons about a river known to change course itself, say environmentalists The Bihar government will try to divert the course of the mighty Kosi river in Bhagalpur district to save an archaeological site discovered recently, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said December 20, 2020. He made the announcement at Guwaradih village in Naugachhia sub-division of Bhagalpur district. Several priceless artefacts have been found at the site during...

The World Economic Outlook – a bi-annual publication of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) -- released in October 2020 has anticipated that the economic progress made by the countries since the 1990s to reduce poverty would be turned upside down by the COVID-19 pandemic. On top of that, economic disparity would rise too in the post-COVID world because the crisis has disproportionately impacted women, informal sector workers and people with...

-Frontline.in Interview with Nikhil Dey, rights activist and founder of the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan, on 15 years of the Right to Information Act. India’s Right to Information (RTI) Act, which was promulgated in 2005, is considered one of the most advanced and powerful pieces of rights legislation in the world. Although an evolved law that forces governments to become more transparent and accountable, almost every regime has shown reluctance to uphold...