-Business Standard On the basis of resource-efficiency, pollution and compliance, state-owned power generation firms fare the worst A staggering 90 per cent of coal-based thermal power plants in India fare unsatisfactorily on the environmental front, shows a recent analysis. While state-owned power generation companies are among the worst performers, plants owned by private firms have performed better on environmental and energy parameters. In a report released by the Centre for Science...

-Frontline A critique of the report of the high-level committee on restructuring the FCI and reviewing its role by TK Rajalakshmi SOON after assuming power at the Centre, Narendra Modi's National Democratic Alliance government set up a high-level committee on re-structuring the Food Corporation of India that was mandated to make the food management system more efficient. It was headed by Shanta Kumar, former Union Minister for Rural Development and former Chief...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: The Centre is likely to make key changes to the land acquisition ordinance in the face of gathering protests from multiple flanks and a nudge by Swadeshi affiliates. A clause that expanded the list of projects exempted from prior consent of affected families and a social impact assessment is expected to be done away with, said sources privy to discussions that have been going on through the week. The...

-The Hindustan Times New Delhi: A new study says that high particulate matter (PM) pollution reduces life expectancy by 3.2 years for 660 million Indians in polluted urban conglomerates, including Delhi, which means a loss of 2.1 billion life years. "The loss of more than two billion life years is a substantial price to pay for air pollution," says the study done by researchers at Chicago University, Yale University and Harvard University."This...

-The Indian Express Recently, the Central government invited comments on its Draft National Health Policy (DNHP). The DNHP provides an exhaustive coverage of health issues and challenges facing this much neglected sector. Its major recommendations are making health a justiciable right and denial of care an offence; provisioning of health services through a strengthened public health delivery system in partnership with the private sector; enhancing public spending from the current level...