-Down to Earth Successive droughts lead to a substantial and unsustainable expansion of cropland at the expense of forested lands “Droughts are misery in slow motion” with impacts even deeper than previously believed. Although floods pose major economic threats, water scarcity and drought may be causing long-term harm in ways that are poorly understood and inadequately documented, claims Uncharted waters: the new economics of water scarcity and variability, a report by...

-Hindustan Times Many of these chemicals have become extremely pervasive in our environment as a result of their widespread repeated use and, in some cases, their environmental persistence Last week, the Maharashtra government registered a police complaint against three pesticide companies and Krishi Seva Kendras (agro-input centres) for selling pesticides not recommended for the region after 32 farmers from Vidarbha died of poisoning. The agriculture department, which is responsible for educating farmers...

-Livemint.com Govt plans to?help firms revamp manufacturing units,?refurbish machinery,?ensure subsidized power in bid to produce drugs such as penicillin at competitive rates New Delhi: The Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP), during a meeting on Wednesday, urged pharma companies to strive for self-sufficiency in critical drugs like penicillin, rifampicin and insulin, in a sign of government concern over India’s dependence on Chinese imports. A large number of so-called active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), or bulk drugs,...

-NDTV Over 600 farmers have been affected by pesticide inhalation in Maharashtra's Vidarbha region. They skipped wearing protective gear while spraying pesticide, officials claimed Mumbai: Twenty nine-year-old Inder Rathod, who works on cottons fields in Maharashtra's Vidarbha region, had sprayed pesticide on the crop last week. That was the last time he saw the lush fields and fluffy cotton crop. "After the spray, I couldn't see anything. It was so sudden,"...

-The Indian Express The Agriculture Department has meanwhile rushed two ‘Quality Control’ probe teams to Yavatmal and Akola to check if some of the pesticides were spurious. Yavatmal (Maharashra): Devidas Madavi, 57, a farm hand from Kalamb town in Yavatmal district, took up the job of spraying pesticides for the first time this year. By August 19, 12 days after he had used a can to spray pesticides in the cotton fields...