-Scroll.in The health bill from crop burning is Rs 2 lakh crore annually. India’s five-year air-pollution-related health bill from burning crop stubble can pay for about 700 premier All India Institutes of Medical Sciences or India’s 2019 central government health budget nearly 21 times over, according to an IndiaSpend analysis of data from a new study. Burning of crop residue or stubble remains a key contributor to air pollution over northern India, despite...

-The Telegraph The CSE alleges that the surveyors did not visit all the cities they ranked Calcutta: The recently released annual survey report on the Swachh Bharat mission, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s pet project, paints an “over-exaggerated” picture of its success and is riddled with “anomalies”, an environment think tank has claimed. The Delhi-based Centre for Science and Environment has said the Swachh Survekshan 2019 was a rushed job, sped up to allow...

-Down to Earth * Day-long Conclave organised by CSE in New Delhi; about 50 experts from across India participate * Experts recogniselinkages between India’s growing burden of diseases and the food produced intensively using chemicals as well as ‘bad food’ — ultra-processed foods high in fats, sugar or salt (HFSS), marketed rampantly * Strong pesticide management billneeded. Class I pesticides, extremely hazardous and toxic, must be phased out * Regulations needed to reduce misuse...

-The Hindu Business Line Letting farmers use Kisan Credit Card for non-farm use for a limited time can help improve credit facility to small farmers The returns earned by farmers, who have access to formal credit, are on an average 17 per cent higher than what farmers, who are dependent on informal sources including loan sharks, earn, said an agricultural economist. Besides, access to institutional credit increases the per capita monthly consumption expenditure...

-Scroll.in The ‘First Question’ helpline launched by the Kerala Forest Research Institute is being managed by research scholars, subject matter experts and scientists. On Friday morning, six-year-old Milan rang up the Kerala Forest Research Institute to get an accurate answer to a question that has been troubling him for some time: “How do fans produce wind?” His call was attended by a research scholar at the institute who patiently noted Milan’s question before...