-PTI NEW DELHI: Rain and flash floods have pushed back development works in Uttarakhand by decades and the challenge at the moment is to build smarter projects without impacting the FRAgile environment of the hilly region, said World Bank's country director Onno Ruhl. "In Uttarakhand, the challenge is to build smarter, so that they do not undermine the FRAgility of the environment," he told PTI after the approval of a $250 million...

-The Hindu The developed countries have committed to cut their greenhouse gas emission levels by a paltry 3% between 201 and 2020, shows new data analysis by the UN FRAmework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). This is less than a third of the emission reduction the rich countries have achieved between 1990 and 2011. The UNFCCC secretariat carried out a technical review of the commitments rich countries have made so far to...

-The Indian Express Those who want parties under RTI have not specified whether this advances transparency or electoral reform. It is time for a more nuanced debate. The tussle around the proposed RTI amendments to nullify the CIC order bringing the six national parties under the RTI Act is notable for many reasons: first, the amendments were sent to the standing committee for deliberation despite near political unanimity. This is significant, since...

-The Times of India India must discuss phasing down hydrofluorocarbons which endanger the planet. In September, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President Barack Obama agreed to discuss how hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), which are hundreds to thousands of times more potent global warming compounds than carbon dioxide, could be phased down. They agreed, bilaterally and at the G20 summit, to use the expertise and institutions of the Montreal Protocol and report emissions under...

-The Times of India CHANDIGARH: The Haryana government is busy digging out old files to line up chargesheets against whistleblower IAS officer Ashok Khemka, who earned the government's wrath after he cancelled the mutation of a land deal between Congress chief Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law Robert Vadra and realty giant DLF last year. Days after Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda approved two chargesheets against Khemka, the government has decided to seek his...