-IndiaToday.in India’s edible oil demand far exceeds domestic production. At least 60 per cent is met through imports, and global prices are soaring. Is there a way out? These days, aside from the coronavirus, Ajay Kumar a 40-year-old a resident of Tagore Garden in West Delhi, finds himself worrying about inflation. He says his monthly spending on essentials like vegetable oils has been steadily rising—a litre of mustard oil now costs him...

-IANS/ NationalHeraldIndia.com The climate emergency will have a catastrophic human and economic impact in India The climate emergency will have a catastrophic human and economic impact in India. Different threats will interact to devastating effect, as exemplified by cyclones Tauktae and Yaas during the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. A new review by the global think tank, ODI, The costs of climate change in India, released on Tuesday, laid out how rising...

Forest fires are not just confined to countries like the United States of America (California, 2020), Brazil (Amazon forest, 2019-2020) or Australia (2019-20); they happen every year across many states in India too. Media reports suggest that forest fires have taken place in the recent months in Odisha's Simlipal National Park, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, among other states. Forest fires have also been reported this year in Nagaland-Manipur border (Dzukou...

-Livemint.com Localized lockdowns and rising covid cases among collection agents hamper loan recoveries Small finance banks are beginning to feel the heat of localized lockdowns and the advancing pandemic wave, as the virus spreads to India’s small towns and hinterland. However, they are better prepared this time, after last year’s severe setback. “The disease is spreading much faster, especially in smaller towns. Rural customers are, however, less impacted. There have been some delays...

-Down to Earth The cumulative effect of hydropower projects projects has turned out to be more environmentally damaging than sustainable, given the current policy of the Uttarakhand govt Human activities profoundly affect the earth’s climate and mountains are a sensitive indicator of that effect. The mountain ecosystem is easily disrupted by variations in climate owing to their altitude, slope and orientation to the sun. Several scientists believe that the change occurring in the...