-Newsclick.in Rice meant for the poor will be sold at subsidised rates to privately-owned ethanol distilleries. The industries will be given cheap loans and exempted from Environmental Clearances. Is the Modi government subsidising the rich at the cost of the poor by diverting foodgrains meant for the most impoverished sections of the population to private industries for producing alcohol for India’s ethanol blended petrol programme? There’s more: For manufacturing ethanol, foodgrains will not...

-India.Mongabay.com * Earlier this year, the Supreme Court of India ordered the demolition of a hotel structure built in 2006 under the garb of a bus stand and parking lot in Dharamshala. The High Court of Shimla has, more than once, asked the state to act against violations. * Dharamshala has witnessed rapid growth which has often spread into the forests. The state action, however, has been targeted towards small encroachments. The...

-Article-14.com The Niti Aayog wants to review the economic impacts of Supreme Court rulings on environmental-law violations. Its officials are supposedly not investigating ‘judicial activism’. Files we obtained using right-to-information laws show that is indeed what they are doing. New Delhi: The government think tank Niti Aayog funded a study on the economic impact of judicial activism, overruling a warning from a top official that it served no purpose, according to documents...

-The Hindu Business Line/ NetworkIdeas.org With India experiencing a severe second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, forcing decentralized lockdowns, a crisis of loss of jobs and livelihoods and resulting hunger is being reported from across the country. A reluctant central government has, therefore, been forced to revive the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY), to distribute 5 kilograms of free foodgrain per person per month to the approximately 80 crore...

-Press release by World Health Organisation, dated 6th May, 2021 * Initial 11 members are distinguished experts in economics, health, government, finance and development from around the world. * Council’s focus is on new strategies to shape economies and financial systems with the objective of building healthy societies that are just, inclusive, equitable and sustainable. It will incorporate lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic. * Council will hold its first meeting on 6...