The environment minister’s office, which is the flagbearer of the eco-friendly norms and has been pulling up the environment code violators, seems to have no clue if the buildings of central government offices in the country are eco-friendly and follow the environment ministry’s guidelines. In June 2010, a right to information (RTI) activist, Lokesh Batra,…
Looking at the the never-ending issue between the ministry of coal and the ministry of environment, the cabinet has decided to form a group of ministers (GoM) to look into the issue of ‘no-go’ mining areas. The GoM is expected to find a balanced approach towards the issue of environmental clearances to mining areas, while…
The ministry of environment and forests has called for conservation and protection of endangered species and issued a new list of birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians who fall in the ‘endangered species’ category. According to a news report in The Times of India, the ministry observed that conservation efforts are often focused on large animals…
The Kailash-Mansarovar landscape, also known as Kang Rinpoche and Kailasa Parvata, is about to see a positive change. India, China and Nepal, the countries across which the Kailash’s boundaries are spread, have chalked out comprehensive conservation and sustainable development plans for the mountain range. A draft proposal for regional cooperation framework for conservation and sustainable…
The participants at the UN climate conference in Cancun finally reached a ‘settlement’ and decided to set up a $100 billion Green Fund to fight global warming. The Green Fund is expected to mobilize $100 billion per year by 2020 and will be given to developing countries for adaptation and mitigation purposes. India described the…
Governments should affirm the goal of a new legally binding climate change agreement, but focus for now on incremental steps that can deliver stronger action, resources and transparency even in the absence of binding commitments, says a new report by the Pew Center on Global Climate Change released December 7 at the UN Climate Change…
After starting a heated debate earlier this month with his remark on use of sports utility vehicles (SUVs) being criminal, environment minister Jairam Ramesh renewed his attack on the use of diesel for luxury cars and shrugged off protests by some manufacturers of SUVs. ‘The diesel subsidy was introduced for a certain economic purpose, but…
Standing firm despite major criticism by the industry for prescribing strict green norms, environment minister Jairam Ramesh has suggested that environment become a political issue. ‘The general mindset we have is that environment is a side issue… that is not the way to deal with it. I think we need to mainstream many of these…
Cineart 2010, a yearlong initiative that saw an estimated 20,500 children learning about the significance of environment conservation through various engaging activities, concluded on November 11. The initiative is conceptualized and implemented by PVR Nest and Moser Baer Trust to promote the idea of school children as ambassadors for a clean and green environment.In the last…
The new focus areas of research at ISRO will primarily be aimed at finding solutions for sustainable development, food and water security, environment, education and healthcare. Speaking at the 11th Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) Silver Jubilee, K Radhakrishnan, chairman, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), confirmed the development. In his lecture on ‘ISRO Saga…
