-NITI Aayog Working Paper, ISBN: 978-81-953811-7-3 Abstract -  The importance of agriculture in an economy usually declines as it climbs the development ladder. Raising agriculture productivity has been known to be an important precursor. Labour productivity in agriculture can either be increased by higher land productivity or higher land availability per farmer and mechanisation. In India, however, the dramatic increase in land productivity through industrial farming has caused severe environmental damage and...

-Down to Earth The Hasdeo forest covering Chhattisgarh’s Korba, Sarguja and Surajpur districts, is a noted migratory corridor and has a significant presence of elephants Environmentalists stood in the sun at the Chhattisgarh Sadan from 10 am to late afternoon on April 11, 2022, protesting the second phase clearance given to the mining projects in Hasdeo Aranya. The Chhattisgarh government has also given the final clearance for the Parsa coal block and the...

-Down to Earth Supreme Court seeks update on power cables at Great Indian Bustard’s habitat The Supreme Court of India sought an update April 1, 2022 from the committee formed for making power lines underground in Rajasthan and Gujarat ordered a year ago.  The habitat of the state bird of Rajasthan — the Great Indian Bustard (GIB) or Godavan — is under threat due to the zigzag web of high-tension power lines through...

-Down to Earth Chinese medicine responsible for decline in donkey population; lack of grazing areas and mechanisation responsible for camel’s decline The population of donkeys and camels in Gujarat has declined 71 per cent and nine per cent respectively, the state’s livestock minister told the legislative assembly recently. Gujarat’s mules and donkeys had declined to 11,291 in the 2019 Livestock Census, from 38,993 in 2012, Raghavji Patel told the assembly in an answer...

-Hindustan Times These plantations will include riverfront development programmes, afforestation, and agroforestry schemes, according to a report on the overview of detailed project reports for rejuvenation of major rivers through forestry interventions prepared by the environment ministry. New Delhi: India intends to grow plantations over 4,68,222 sq km, an area larger than the entire state of Rajasthan, by 2027 in 13 major river basins to meet its international commitment to sequester carbon...