-Hindustan Times In north India’s food-bowl states, farmers set aflame paddy stalks around October to clear their fields for their next crop. This releases millions of tonnes of smoke, carbon dioxide stored in plant Biomass, toxins and planet-warming gases in the atmosphere. Some environmentalists reckon this to be the deadliest spell of pollution in all of South Asia. In north India’s food-bowl states, farmers set aflame paddy stalks around October to clear...

-The Hindu In Punjab, a project to use of paddy straw to produce compressed bio gas is one that is replicable across India, and can transform the rural economy The beginnings of a renewable energy revolution rooted in agriculture are taking shape in India with the first bio-energy plant of a private company in Sangrur district of Punjab having commenced commercial operations on October 18. It will produce Compressed Bio Gas (CBG)...

-The Hindu 65% of Indians and a third of the global population had higher PM2.5 exposures during the lockdown, largely attributed to Biomass cooking activity During COVID-19 lockdowns, many countries observed historic improvements in ambient air quality. Our new study shows that despite the historic improvements in ambient air quality, PM2.5 exposures increased for 65% of Indians and a third of the global population during the lockdown, largely attributed to Biomass cooking...

-Hindustan Times Haryana currently has 10 power projects that use paddy straw to generate around 84MW electricity. Besides, there are two paddy straw-based Biomass power projects in Kurukshetra and Kaithal, owned by Haryana Renewable Energy Development Agency (HAREDA), that consume 3.5 lakh MT of crop waste and generate 15 MW electricity each. Karnal: With around 35 lakh metric tonnes (MT) of paddy crop residue generated every year, Haryana faces a mammoth task...

-NITI Aayog Working Paper, ISBN: 978-81-953811-7-3 Abstract -  The importance of agriculture in an economy usually declines as it climbs the development ladder. Raising agriculture productivity has been known to be an important precursor. Labour productivity in agriculture can either be increased by higher land productivity or higher land availability per farmer and mechanisation. In India, however, the dramatic increase in land productivity through industrial farming has caused severe environmental damage and...