-Hindustan Times According to the revised norms, coal mines with environmental clearances to expand by 40%, can now expand by up to 50% without any environment impact assessment or public consultation The Union environment ministry has relaxed the mandatory compliance norms for coal mining expansion projects citing higher demand for coal amid an ongoing power crisis -- a move that has been criticised by environmentalists, especially since the coal ministry has said...

-Hindustan Times Temperatures in parts of Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Vidarbha are likely to jump to 46-47 degrees Celsius due to the dry and hot westerly winds. The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has warned of a fresh heatwave spell in Delhi from Wednesday, when temperatures are expected to soar to 44 degrees Celsius. The heatwave is expected to last till May 15, the weather office, while a yellow alert was sounded for the...

-IndiaSpend.com/ Scroll.in Achieving the target won’t drastically reduce emissions nor will India achieve energy security because of it. For India to meet its target of 20% ethanol blended in petrol by the year 2025 (commonly known as the E20 target), it will have to bring in more land under cultivation of feedstock – agricultural products that can be converted into ethanol – land that can be better utilised for the generation of...

-Hindustan Times DSR ‘tar-wattar’ (good soil moisture), a low-cost mechanical sowing technique to reduce water footprint in the cultivation of water-guzzling rice by 20%, was indigenously developed by scientists of Ludhiana-based Punjab Agricultural University BATHINDA: As farmers are expecting a sharp rise in farm labourers’ demand to charge up to ₹6,000 per acre for paddy sowing this season, direct seeding of rice (DSR), which for the first time comes with an incentive...

-Newsclick.in Production has dipped for the first time in the Modi era and procurement has plummeted, bringing wheat stocks down and affecting foodgrain-based schemes. The Narendra Modi-led Central government is going to be confronted with a crisis that it has never faced yet – shortage of wheat, one of India’s key staples. The worry about this looming cloud is aggravated by the fact that the Modi government has not been particularly successful...