Rising food prices have not yet reached crisis levels but they are expected to remain very volatile for about the next decade, researchers said Thursday. The conclusions were based on a new study of the factors that contributed to the 2007-08 food crisis, which researchers hope will shed light on what actions might be taken to avoid food crises in the future. "There were many suspects for what caused the crisis, but...

Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi on Friday requested Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to defer issuing the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) notification till the apprehensions of fisherfolk and environmentalists are allayed. In a letter, Mr. Karunanidhi said there was a strong apprehension among the coastal communities that the draft notification would cause widespread destruction to the livelihood of fishing communities and other poor communities in the coastal areas, resulting in damage to coastal...

The CAG indicts Uttarakhand for pursuing hydel power projects indiscriminately without concern for the environment. IN a severe indictment of the Uttarakhand government, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India said it was pushing the State towards a major environmental catastrophe by following a highly ambitious hydropower policy. In a report titled “Performance Audit of Hydropower Development Through Private Sector Participation”, which was released recently, the CAG substantiates the allegations...

The 3-1 conclusion of the POSCO panel that all clearances to the Rs 50,000-crore project be scrapped should haven’t come as a surprise to at least one person: Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh. The panel’s report now wends its way through the Ministry’s official expert committees. For, Ramesh had handpicked these members and each of the three who opposed the project has, in the past, taken clearly stated positions on infrastructure projects,...

An Indian government panel has recommended that environmental clearances for a steel plant to be built by South Korean company Posco be scrapped. The $12bn plant in Orissa is India's largest foreign investment project. Critics of the project say it will exhaust iron ore deposits in 20 years. India earlier rejected plans by mining giant Vedanta to extract bauxite in eastern Orissa state saying it would damage the local environment. A panel of India's...