-Livemint.com Convergence aimed to synergize efforts to improve LIvelihoods through horticulture, plantation and farm forestry and collectively address climate change concerns New Delhi: Aiming to increase India's forest cover, address climate change concerns and achieve a faster growth rate in the rural economy, the government has decided to merge the Green India Mission (GIM) with the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS). Since taking over in May 2014, Prime Minister...

-The Indian Express   New Delhi: Told to "place the correct picture" before the Supreme Court on the "critical need" for hydel projects in Uttarakhand, the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) first contradicted the recommendations of its own panel, which ruled against six hydel projects, and is now unable to submit it in writing to the court. The ministry, which was asked by the Supreme Court on December 16 to examine the...

-Scroll.in The current debate is centred on the conflict between the interests of farmers and industry. There are many more LIvelihoods at stake. There is an important debate simmering in the Indian Parliament on the national land acquisition law that will decide the fate of many of the country's people. Despite its import, the debate has been reductive. It fails to fully appreciate that there is more to the land question than...

-The Indian Express The budget aims at economic growth and social protection. This is welcome. So are provisions for financial inclusion, housing, water, sanitation and rural electrification. But there are also substantial cuts in crucial social sectors and key omissions that are likely to undermine its stated economic objectives. Consider agriculture, environment and women. First, double-digit growth or poverty reduction is unlikely without strong, sustained agricultural growth. In 2014-15, agriculture grew at...

-The Indian Express By officially committing to inflation targeting through the signing of a monetary policy agreement between the finance ministry and the RBI, India has joined 28 other countries in explicitly fixing goals for annual increases in the consumer price index (CPI) and pinning responsibility on the central bank for achieving them. Interestingly, among the now 29 countries, India has the lowest per capita income. While there are as many as...