Although social activists and concerned economists demanded at least Rs. 1 lakh crore to be earmarked in favour of the Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), the Finance Minister in her budget speech on 1st February allocated only Rs.61,500 crore to it for the financial year 2020-21. As compared to the fund spent on MGNREGA in 2019-20 (i.e. revised estimate of Rs.71,001.81 crore), the amount set aside for the...
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EIA Legitimised Environmental Destruction. Now, Govt ‘Renovates’ it for the Worst. -Manju Menon and Kanchi Kohli
-TheWire.in The Environment Impact Assessment (EIA), a legal process that effectively grants projects like mines, dams and industries access to land, water, forests and other environmental resources has been used in India since 1994. On March 12, 2020, in the midst of a global pandemic, the environment ministry put out a draft proposal to amend the EIA norms. The last date for public comments is June 30, 2020. The EIA was designed within...
More »Growing gap in irrigation potential and usage major challenge -Jitendra
-Down to Earth To reduce the consumption of water and maximise agricultural productivity in the country, the government is trying to introduce different innovations The gap between irrigation potential created, through major and minor projects, and the actual usage is increasing and affecting the country’s agricultural productivity, according to the Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR), the premier agricultural education and research body under the Union Ministry of Agriculture. "The key challenge facing...
More »Manisha Verma, principal secretary, tribal development department, Maharashtra interviewed by Sugandha Indulkar (The Times of India)
-The Times of India Manisha Verma, principal secretary, tribal development department, Maharashtra talks to Sugandha Indulkar about The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 and related issues, with today being World Tribal Day. * What’s the precise positioning of the tribal welfare departments at the Centre and states on FRA? This is a seminal legislation. The preamble to the Act itself states that it aims...
More »India will soon run out of water; 'extremely high' crisis level: Report
-PTI * India, ranked 13 on Aqueduct's list of 'extremely highly' water stressed countries * 'Water stress is the biggest crisis no one is talking about,' said President and CEO of the World Resources Institute Washington: India is among the 17 countries, which are a home to a quarter of the world’s population, facing "extremely high" water stress, close to "Day Zero" conditions when the taps run dry, according to a report unveiled...
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