Page 691 - Environment
Farmers under pressure due to not getting right prices: Shekhawat
Union Minister of State for Agriculture Gajendra Singh Shekhawat today said farmers across the country are under pressure, one of the reasons being they are not getting the right prices for their produce. Addressing a press conference here to highlight the achievements of the Narendra Modi government in the last four years, Shekhawat said, "The country's farmers were under pressure, and I am saying this with responsibility that to a certain extent, they are still under pressure." The Indian agriculture sector has a very complex structure and one of the reasons for the pressure on farmers is due to not getting right prices, he said. "If we want to double the income of anyone, be it an individual or a family or the country or any community, two things can be done -- reduce the expenditure and increase the sources of revenue... The government is working with this two-pronged approach to increase the income of the farmers," Shekhawat said. On the hurdles in providing fair prices to
Dehradun to host main event on yoga day, PM Modi to attend
Dehradun will be the venue for this year's national programme on the International Yoga Day on June 21 with Prime Minister Narendra Modi attending it. Uttarakhand Chief Secretary Utpal Kumar Singh was informed about it through a letter by Ayush Secretary Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha. Dehradun will be the venue for this year's national programme on the International Yoga Day, an official release here said. Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat had told reporters on the sidelines of a programme here yesterday that the prime minister will attend the International Yoga Day celebrations here on June 21. "The prime minister has special feelings for Uttarakhand and he is coming to Dehradun on the International Yoga Day," Rawat had said, adding that the venue for the programme would be close to the Forest Research Institute.
Pb: Rs 8.88 cr assistance provided in 314 farmer suicide cases
The Punjab government today said that it has so far approved financial assistance of Rs 8.88 crore in 314 cases of farmer suicide. The State Level Committee (SLC) constituted in this regard has sanctioned the relief in 10 meetings held till date starting from April last year, state Revenue Minister Sukhbinder Singh Sarkaria was quoted as saying in an official release. The minister said the SLC in its 10th meeting, approved Rs 53 lakh in 18 such cases, including six from Bathinda district, four in Mansa, six in Tarn Taran and two in Patiala. He claimed that with the release of Rs 8.88 crore, the Congress government had provided the highest ever relief to families of farmers who committed suicide since the launch of this scheme in 2015. Sarkaria said the financial assistance to the next of the kin of the deceased was being provided on the directives of Chief Minister Amarinder Singh. He said that review meetings were held at districts and state levels to ensure timely disbursal of ...
Uber rolls out 'Movement' to help tackle city congestion
With the aim to help minimise traffic congestion and air pollution in major cities, Uber -- a ride-sharing and transportation company -- on Monday announced the rollout of "Movement", a free website that uses Ubers anonymised data on traffic patterns.
Worsening air quality causing premature mortality in Bihar cities: Report
Worsening air quality in Patna, Gaya, and Muzaffarpur is one of the reasons behind high premature mortality in these Bihar cities, a report said on Monday.
Australia is perfect for film producers to explore: Parineeti
Actress Parineeti Chopra, who is gearing up for the release of her upcoming film "Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar", says Australia is a perfect international location for Indian producers to explore for shooting Bollywood movies.
Coast Guards of India, Pak hold talks, focus on maritime boundary violations by fishermen
Coast Guards of India and Pakistan today held talks, addressing issues pertaining to boundary violations by fishermen from both sides and enhancing cooperation in the area of maritime search and rescue, and combating pollution at sea. "A lot of focus of the meeting was on (violation of maritime boundary by) fishermen," Indian Coast Guard Director General Rajendra Singh said. "Focus of the talks was also on cooperation in the area of search and rescue operations and cooperation in the field of (maritime) pollution," he added. The four-member delegation of the Pakistan Maritime Security Agency (PMSA) is being led by its Director General Rear Admiral Zaka Ur Rehman. Rehman was accompanied by Director Operations of the PMSA, an official each from Pakistan's Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Two members -- a defence attache and a political secretary -- at the Pakistan High Commission here also participated in the talks. The high-level meeting was conducted under the ...
Beijing protests US warship operation in South China Sea
China has voiced "strong dissatisfaction" after two US warships sailed by an island claimed by Beijing in the disputed South China Sea, adding to simmering tensions in the strategic waterway. The foreign ministry issued a statement expressing "resolute opposition" to the US sail-by of the territory in the disputed Paracel Island chain on Sunday. The US military conducts what it calls "freedom of navigation" voyages in the South China Sea to contest Beijing's assertion of territorial rights in the area, although the US has no claims of its own in the disputed region. The US Navy's Higgins and Antietam warships, a destroyer and cruiser respectively, entered China's territorial waters without permission and were met by the Chinese Navy, which "conducted verification and identification of US ships according to law and warned them to leave," the ministry said. State-run news agency Xinhua said the two vessels were "expelled" from the waters. The operation was conducted just over a week ...
Grid connected clean energy capacity reaches 70 GW in April
India added 269.64 MW of renewable energy capacity last month taking the total grid connected clean energy capacity to 70,053.81 MW as on April 30, a government report has said. According to the report by the ministry of new and renewable energy, India added 34,165 MW of wind energy, 21,885.1 MW solar energy including rooftop solar, 4,489.80 MW small hydro (of up to 25 MW) and 8,700.80 MW Biomass (Bagasse) Cogeneration as on April 30. The nation also witnessed 674.81 MW of Biomass (non-bagasse) Cogeneration)/Captive Power and 138.30 Waste to Power till April 30. India also installed off grid clean energy of 40 MW in April taking the total installed capacity in this segment to 1046.93 MW at April end this year. Under the grid connected renewable capacity, India did not add any capacity of Waste to Power and Biomass (Bagasse) Cogeneration). Similarly, under the off grid clean energy capacity, nothing was added in waste to energy and biomass gasifiers segment. However as much as 40 ..
Tamil Nadu deputy chief minister says will take all steps to shut down Vedanta's copper smelter
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Tamil Nadu deputy head said on Monday his government would take all steps to permanently shut a copper smelter run by London-listed Vedanta Resources after deadly protests demanding its closure on environmental grounds.
2,952 pigs and piglets die of PRRS and CSF in Mizoram
At least 2,952 pigs and piglets have died in Mizoram and 6,664 other pigs were taken ill due to the outbreak of Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS) and Classical Swine Fever (CSF) since early March, state government officials said today. The officials said that 101 villages in seven out of eight districts in southern Mizoram have been affected. Only Lunglei district has been declared as safe, they said. According to animal husbandry and veterinary department officials, veterinary experts had collected blood samples from 467 pigs and 455 samples tested positive. While PRRS virus was found in 255 samples, 200 samples were infected with CSF virus, an official said. The PRRS had killed almost 9,000 pigs and piglets in 2013 and 2016, the official added.
EU proposes ban on straws, other single-use plastics
The European Union proposed today a bloc-wide ban on single-use plastics such as straws, cutlery and cotton buds while urging the collection of most plastic drinks bottles by 2025. The set of proposals are part of a growing EU drive to rid the environment of plastic waste which has begun showing up in the food chain. "Plastic waste is undeniably a big issue and Europeans need to act together to tackle this problem," EU First Vice President Frans Timmermans said. "Today's proposals will reduce single-use plastics on our supermarket shelves through a range of measures," Timmermans added. The proposals call for banning banning plastic cotton buds, cutlery, plates, straws, drink stirrers and balloon sticks, but it did not set a deadline. These items must all be made from sustainable materials instead, according to the plan which must be approved by the 28 EU member countries and the European Parliament. Member states must reduce the use of plastic food containers and drinks cups, by ...
Polavaram: NGT notice to Centre, others on plea alleging obstruction in Godavari river
A plea alleging obstruction in the minimum environment flow in Godavari River due to construction of a diaphragm wall at Polavaram Dam prompted the National Green Tribunal today to seek responses from the Centre and others. A bench headed by acting NGT Chairperson Justice Jawad Rahim issued notices to the Polavaram Project Authority, Union Environment Ministry, Inter Ministerial Monitoring Committee, Central Inland Fisheries Institute, Andhra Pradesh, District Collector of West Godavari and others while seeking their replies before July 31. The tribunal had recently asked all states to maintain a minimum environmental flow of 15 to 20 percent of the average lean season course in their rivers. E-flow defines the quantity, timing and quality of water flow required to sustain freshwater and estuarine ecosystems, besides human livelihood. Advocate Pragya Parijat Singh, appearing for the petitioner, told the bench that the environmental flow of the river was being obstructed due to ...
Tibet gets warmer, wetter
China's Tibet region is getting warmer and wetter due to global climate change, data from the regional climate centre has shown. Tibet's average temperature climbed 0.42 degrees Celsius per decade from 1981 to 2017, while average annual precipitation has increased by 11 millimetres every 10 years. The average temperature in 2017 was 5.7 degrees Celsius, the third-highest since 1981. Average annual rainfall last year was 492.4 millimetres, 32.2 millimetres more than average, state-run Xinhua news agency reported quoting the centre's data. Scientists believe the change in temperature and precipitation on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is the result of global climate change, which has expanded the temperate zone and forced the frigid and the sub frigid zones in Tibet to move westward and northward, it said. The overall environment in the highlands is good, scientists said, according to the report.
Major rat infestation to close Australian islands
Nearly one dozen islands in Australia's far north will be closed to the public from Monday as authorities attempt to deal with a major rat infestation.
MP government trying for basmati patent: CM
Amid similar efforts being made by other states, the Madhya Pradesh government too is trying hard to get a patent for basmati variety of rice, Chief Minister Shiraj Singh Chouhan has said.
Geodiversity map of Sikkim Himalayas to aid conservation
In a maiden effort, researchers have mapped the plant diversity of the Sikkim Himalayas on the basis of geography and climate data, to create a 'geodiversity index that can serve as a tool for biodiversity conservation and disaster risk reduction.
New Zealand to cull over 100,000 cows to eradicate Mycoplasma
New Zealand will become the first country in the world to try to eradicate the Mycoplasma bovis cow disease by culling tens of thousands of cows in the largest mass animal slaughter in the countrys history.
Myanmar says some Rohingya refugees returned voluntarily
Myanmar says dozens of Rohingya Muslims who fled to neighbouring Bangladesh have returned voluntarily and will be sent to a transit centre pending resettlement. Nearly 700,000 Rohingya fled mainly Buddhist Myanmar after a violent army crackdown began last August in the western state of Rakhine, a process that the US and UN have described as ethnic cleansing. Myanmar has said it is ready to take them back and has traded accusations with Bangladesh over who is responsible for the delay in implementing a repatriation deal. Critics question its sincerity. The long-persecuted stateless minority have been reluctant to return without guarantees of basic rights and protections, including the right to return to their old villages rather than to transit camps. A total of 58 Rohingya have crossed back into Myanmar after they could "no longer find it tenable" to live in Bangladeshi refugee camps, according to a statement published in state media Monday from the office of Myanmar's de facto leader
Poland says Russian gas pipeline is a 'new hybrid weapon'
Poland's prime minister has called a planned Russian gas pipeline, Nord Stream 2, a "new hybrid weapon" and says Moscow wants to use it to undermine NATO and the European Union. Mateusz Morawiecki called Nord Stream 2 "a poisoned pill of European security" as he addressed a NATO Parliamentary Assembly in Warsaw today. The Nord Stream 2 project would double the amount of natural gas Russia can funnel directly to energy-hungry Germany from newly tapped reserves in Siberia, intentionally skirting Eastern European nations like Poland and Ukraine. The United States and some other EU members share Poland's opposition to the project, warning that it could give Moscow greater leverage over Western Europe.
