-Hindustan Times Jhabua: Bhil tribes people in Madhya Pradesh’s Jhabua and Alirajpur districts have revived their age-old tradition “halma” to conserve environment. Bhil tribes people said the water level and forest cover in the two districts are decreasing and if they do not conserve the natural resources then the next generation will suffer. More than 85% people in the two districts are tribal; most of them are farmers and daily wage workers. Alirajpur...

-The Hindu New Delhi: Plea seeks stoppage of construction on the Yamuna floodplains for the World Culture Festival. “Has any of the agencies assessed the environmental impact of the Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s Art of Living Foundation’s three-day ‘World Culture Festival’ to be held in the city starting this Friday?” asked the National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Tuesday. It was hearing a plea seeking stoppage of ongoing construction on the floodplains for...

-Livemint.com Investments via gender lens increase access to capital for women and girls, improve gender equality, say experts Less than 7% of all philanthropic dollars find their way to programmes designed specifically for girls and women—not a promising figure if gender equality in the world is the ultimate goal. This was the startling finding of a 2014 study by Women Moving Millions, an international not-for-profit agency. To improve gender equality, experts suggest...

-Hindustan Times Preparations for the three-day Art of Living event on the banks of Yamuna have reportedly forced birds to migrate from the area. New Delhi: As the site has been cleared of all bushes and vegetation, species such as larks, pipits, warblers and other rare birds found in this zone are rapidly disappearing because of the destruction of the riverine habitat. The World Culture Festival (WCF) being organised by the Art of...

-Livemint.com A growth-first approach may work in the short-term, but India needs to prioritize sustainability simultaneously The Union Budget 2016-17, seeking to “transform India”, has been hailed for its emphasis on agricultural growth and sustainability. Symbolically, the finance minister put “agriculture and farmers’ welfare” first in his nine-point agenda. The words “agriculture” and “farmer” found 20 and 32 mentions, respectively, in the budget speech, the highest in the last decade. On the...