-United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) A prolonged and deadly heatwave has hit large swaths of India and Pakistan affecting hundreds of millions of people and sparking food and energy shortages. Experts say the extreme heat is a grim preview of what the climate crisis has in store for a region home to over 1 billion people. Temperatures in India’s capital and parts of Pakistan have at times reached close to 50°C, killing...

-Down to Earth Low returns and high risks from alternative crops among reasons past efforts failed, says report The Commission for Agricultural Cost and Prices (CACP) has recommended promotion of crop diversification, favouring oilseed crops amid the global inflation in oilseeds and vegetable oils prices. Global inflation creates a structural risk as vegetable oils account for about half of India’s agricultural import, subsequently raising the country’s agri-import bill, the commission wrote in its...

-The Tribune Target 12 lakh hectares | Land under DSR 72,000 hectares Chandigarh: The state government has extended the deadline for farmers to opt for Direct Seeding of Rice (DSR) to June 30 after its ambitious PLAn to bring 12 lakh hectares under the water-saving technique has come a cropper. Official sources say that of the targeted 12 lakh hectares, only 72,000 hectares have been brought under the DSR. With paddy transPLAntation set...

-Hindustan Times Unseasonal rains also damaged lemon crops during the flowering stage in several states in January and then, a heatwave while March-April harvesting crimped output. In April, prices leapt to unseen levels, reaching up to ₹200 a kilo. New Delhi: Extreme weather that scientists have linked to climate change has hit output of several crops this year, making fruits and vegetables costlier. The average retail price of tomatoes, a basic ingredient of...

-Hindustan Times During the Covid pandemic-induced lockdown in early 2020, nearly 25,000 migrant workers reached Saharanpur on bicycles while heading back to their native PLAces in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar from their PLAces of work in Haryana, Punjab, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh. Meerut: The Saharanpur district administration has auctioned 5,400 bicycles left behind by migrant workers from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar while rushing home during the nationwide lockdown in the wake of...