-Down to Earth Aggressive sugarcane farming contaminates land, water The Union government intends to increase the amount of ethanol in the energy mix to lower the country’s dependence on imported oil and carbon footprint, as well as stabilise petrol prices.  India currently blends about 8.5 per cent ethanol in petrol. The government is targeting a 10 per cent ethanol blend by 2022 and a 20 per cent blend (E20) by 2025. E20 can save...

-The Hindu Business Line The survey was conducted by research agency IPSOS across eight Indian cities With the country grappling with the pandemic, nearly one out of two Indians were found to have a poor quality of life, according to a survey released by Danone India in collaboration with CII. The survey was conducted by research agency IPSOS across eight Indian cities with a sample size of 2,762 respondents, and scored them on...

-Down to Earth West Bengal, along with Bangladesh, received two million on-ground lightning bolts The region of West Bengal in India and Bangladesh is among the most vulnerable in South Asia to lethal lightning strikes, according to a recent report. West Bengal received the highest number of lightning strikes per square kilometer in 2020, followed by Jharkhand, according to South Asia lightning Report ,2020 by Earth Networks, a global weather intelligence agency. The company’s...

-Down to Earth The attempt on the part of the incumbent government, to project the Bengali Muslim community as a civilisational threat to Assam’s indigenous communities is not going to help Debates on population control gained momentum in the state of Assam after the Himanta Biswa Sarma-led government assumed power in the state in May 2021. From the beginning of his tenure, the chief minister has been asserting that his government stands for...

-IANS/ Siasat.com Rumana had ranked fifth in the 2019 Madhyamik exams by securing 687 marks out of 700 Kolkata: Though the West Bengal Council for Higher Secondary Education (WBCHSE) — the board responsible for conducting Higher Secondary exams in the state — did not release any merit list because no formal exams were held this year owing to the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the marks scored by the students on the basis...