-The Times of India NEW DELHI: India recorded an increase of 5,871 sq km in its forest cover in the past two years with West Bengal contributing over 60% of the total rise in green area. Odisha, Kerala, Jharkhand and Bihar were the other states which contributed to this marginal increase. Hilly and tribal districts of the country registered an increase in forest cover of 40 sq km and 2,396 sq km, respectively. The...
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Monsoon may be below par: India Meteorological Department
-The Times of India PUNE/NEW DELHI: Acknowledging the shadow of El Nino on this year's monsoon, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Thursday predicted below normal June-September rains at 95% of the long period average. In its first long period forecast for this year, IMD said there was a 56% probability of below normal to deficient rains, as compared to a 44% chance of rains being normal or better. The department...
More »Counting our chickens -Neelkanth
-The Indian Express Agricultural GDP is underestimated due to inaccurate non-cereal data. It started with a mundane question: what is the chicken population in India? There are glaring inconsistencies in the available data. The National Sample Survey Organisation's (NSSO's) surveys show a 20 per cent annual growth of chicken consumption between 2005 and 2010. But according to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the production of chicken meat only rose 10 per...
More »New Effort Launched to Measure and Monitor Global Food Loss and Waste
-World Resources Institute COPENHAGEN//WASHINGTON - The World Resources Institute (WRI) today announced the first step in designing a global standard for measuring food loss and waste. The forthcoming guidance, called the "Food Loss and Waste Protocol," will enable countries and companies to measure and monitor the food loss and waste that occur within their boundaries and value chains in a credible, practical, and consistent manner. The announcement was made at the Global...
More »Failed Number -Usha Ramanathan
-The Hindu The Supreme Court's Interim order defining Aadhaar from subsidies has left the Centre grappling with the future of the Unique Identification programme. It must now provide a clear roadmap to citizens and address their genuine concerns. Unique, universal, ubiquitous: three words that Mr Nandan Nilekani used to describe the ambitions of the UID project. Every person across the population of over 1.2 billion was to be uniquely identified. Every person...
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