-Down to Earth The time to put off the inevitable question about human relationship to nature is long past. Our assumption that we can control and modify nature without repercussions is a fallacy Lofty mountains that touch the azure skies, gentle hills clothed in dense tropical forests and evergreen valleys — the Western Ghats nurture a variety of ecosystems not found in any other part of the world. Spread over 164,280 square kilometres,...

-The Hindu Delhi Chalo protest on Nov 26, 27 could draw thousands of farmers to capital Over 500 farmers groups plan to block Roads across the country on November 5, as part of an all-India “chakka jam”, the next step in their protests against the three controversial farm reform laws passed by Parliament last month. The groups, which include several major federations such as the Bharatiya Kisan Union and the All India Kisan...

-TheWire.in While those living outside the embankment area benefit from less flooding and erosion, those within the embankment area are more prone to risk. Supaul (Bihar): On September 10, a fortnight before the announcement of the state assembly elections, Bihar water resources minister Sanjay Kumar Jha laid the foundation for a 4.6 km long extension of the Sikarhatta-Majhari low embankment from Parsauni to Mahisha in Madhubani’s Baidyanathpur area. “The construction of this embankment...

-Society for Social and Economic Research The economic reforms which were started in 1991 shifted the focus of fertilizer policies away from playing a leading role in building the fertilizer industry and ensuring the availability of fertilizers at affordable prices to farmers. Under the neo-liberal policy framework, reducing the fiscal burden of fertilizer subsidies and the foreign exchange burden of fertilizer-related imports became the overriding concerns of the state.  Interestingly, the post-liberalisation...

-Business Standard The MSP is declared for 23 crops. This means that farmers of other crops or those trying to diversify under contract farming would not have the MSP protection of the Bills Much was made of the Punjab government’s plan to reject the three central laws on agri markets and provide its own protection to famers, especially on prices for their produce. But, the two Bills presented in the state legislature...