-Livemint.com News of India recording the world’s most New Year’s Day births seems to have revived talk of a strict population control policy. But there is no need for panic. Nor state intervention. For decades, doomsday theories of our population boom have been used to explainrising poverty and unemployment, food shortages and health crises, environmental degradation and climate change. This New Year’s Day, Unicef, the United Nations’ children’s agency, estimated that nearly...

-The Hindu Report on congenital deformities in children born to women exposed to the 1984 gas leak is inconclusive, says committee. An expert committee explicitly barred the publication of the findings of a research study that said babies born to women — who as children were exposed to the 1984 gas leak in Bhopal — were significantly more likely to have “congenital malformations” than those born to women unexposed to the gas. The...

-Financial Express There is an irony being played out in Delhi. While the national capital is reeling under one of its worst spells of air pollution, the Delhi government is bringing out a series of advertisements claiming that the pollution levels are down by 25%. The advertisements mention that the levels of PM 2.5—particulate matter of size less than 2.5 microns—have reduced from 154 microgrammes per cubic meter (µg/m3) during 2012-2014 to...

  Air quality in North India in general and Delhi National Capital Region (Delhi NCR) in particular plunged to its lowest point in recent years during October-November thanks to a variety of factors. Through media reports one comes to know that stubble burning (also called paddy straw burning/ crop residue burning) is chiefly responsible for the public health crisis in India's capital and its nearby regions. Data accessed from the website...

-The New Indian Express The proposed 2,000 MW Sharavathi Pumped Storage Hydroelectric project falls in the middle of the Sharavathi river valley. BENGALURU: The proposed 2,000 MW Sharavathi Pumped Storage Hydroelectric project falls in the middle of the Sharavathi river valley. The project, first floated by the Siddaramaiah government, is now being pushed by the Yediyurappa government, overriding concerns of locals, environmentalists and forest officials. Presently, the state government is seeking the Centre’s...