-The Hindu Whether the memory of the odd-even experiment will inspire us to lead healthier lives depends on the willingness of the so-called aspirational classes to engage in a deeper debate on development It will take time and expertise to assess the odd-even experiment in Delhi, but there is no doubt that it was educative. It taught the government that the public is now ready to support radical measures on air pollution....

-Economic and Political Weekly Agriculture cannot be revived without a different approach to water, soil, crops and research. For the second year in succession, rainfall in the monsoon season has been less than normal. As many as 302 out of the 640 districts in the country have been declared drought-hit and the impact of the drought is the severest in nine major states of south, central and east India. It is striking...

-The Hindu Business Line Millers welcome move, but seek more time to meet new standards New Delhi: To minimise water pollution and wastage, the Centre has notified stricter environmental standards for sugar mills. Under the new norms, which come into effect immediately, the permissible specific wastewater discharge has been halved to 200 litres/tonne of cane crushed against 400 litres/tonne earlier. The final treated effluent discharge has been restricted to 100 litres/tonne. “This will...

-The Hindu Crop insurance has always been a knotty issue with the two previous ones, National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (NIAS) of 1999 and the Modified NAIS of 2010 failing to address the concerns. Hyderabad: Agriculture scientists, NGOs and farmer leaders have picked holes in the recently launched Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bhima Yojana (PMFBY) touted as the much-awaited ‘suraksha kavach’ (shield) and panacea for all crop insurance related ills. Crop insurance has always been...

-The Times of India Nagpur: Chairman of state task force on farmers, Kishore Tiwari, has urged chief minister Devendra Fadnavis to ban use of chemicals in 14 suicide-prone districts of Maharashtra. Tiwari's suggestion follows Prime Minister Narendra Modi's appeal to emulate Sikkim, which has become the first state to switch over to total organic farming to save environment. "To start with at least the 14 districts of Maharashtra, affected by farmers' suicide,...