The government proposes to create 30,000 MW of fresh generating capacity from renewable sources of energy during the 12th five-year plan (2012″17). This will bring India’s overall renewable power capacity to 56,267 MW. The country’s power-generating capacity based on renewable sources currently stands at 26,267 MW, Minister for New and Renewable Energy Dr Farooq Abdullah…
A study by two professors at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bangalore asserts that India’s energy needs can be met entirely by solar and other renewable sources. The report, published in the journal Current Science, contradicts the widely propagated theory that the country does not have enough land to exploit the potential of…
At least four leopards have been poached in India every week for the last decade. So says the report titled ‘Illuminating the Blind Spots: A Study on Illegal Trade in Leopard Parts in India (2001-2010)’, released by Traffic India, the wildlife trade monitoring network. The study documents a total of 420 seizures of leopard…
The Tripura government has announced plans to make Agartala a ‘solar city’, replacing at least 10 per cent of regular power use with solar energy. Inaugurating a 50-kilowatt solar power plant at the Agartala Municipal Council head office, the state Urban Development Minister Manik Dey declared that ‘Agartala city would be the first “solar city 
A Right to Information (RTI) query has thrown light on how illegal mining has become rampant in Billi Markundi reserve forest in Robertsganj township of Sonbhadra District. An area of 2622.10 hectares in this reserve was notified on November 5, 1969, under Section-4 of the Indian Forest Act. In August 2002, district administration applied to…
In its report on the status of wildlife in Goa submitted to the state forest department, Wildlife Institute of India (WII) has suggested including Goa as part of the Tiger Reserve complex. Goa forms part of the corridor connecting Anshi-Dandeli in Karnataka and Sahyadri tiger reserve in Maharashtra. The Dehradun-based institute has established that…
India’s state-owned NTPC Ltd ranks as the world’s sixth-largest polluter among 40 large power-generating companies, according to Centre for Global Development (CGD), a Washington-based think-tank. Four Chinese companies are among the top polluters, followed by a South African company at the fifth place.The findings are part of CGD’s latest database on global carbon emissions, called…
The 6th Toy Biz International (June 30-July 2, 2012) at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi, has brought ‘green toys’ into sharp focus with buyers as well as general visitors showing relatively more interest in them. India’s biggest B2B toy expo had more than 2,000 visitors on the second day. This year’s theme – Destination India –…
Since 1992, when the last Rio summit happened, the average temperature across the globe has gone up by half a degree; the pollution levels have climbed up by 15 per cent; natural disasters have affected over 4.4 billion people; and primary forest areas have decreased by 740 million acres (an area larger than Argentina). As…
Maharashtra’s environment department is preparing a proposal to levy tax on environment polluters. The proposal, say sources, is almost ready and will soon be tabled before the state cabinet. As per the proposal, any activity that affects the environment, like stone-crushing, mining, vehicular pollution, industries and big infrastructural projects, will be liable to pay environment…
