The Green Agriculture project synergises biodiversity conservation, agriculture production, and development India is signatory to the Convention on Biological Diversity. As four of the 35 biodiversity hotspots are located in India, it is biodiversity-rich. However, climate change and development without consideration for biodiversity are leading to loss of biodiversity. India’s …

Ad hoc steps to check the currency’s decline must not deflect from the deeper problems The rupee, which is currently the worst-performing currency in Asia, is finally receiving some help from the authorities. The Union government, after a meeting with Reserve Bank of India Governor Urjit Patel, on Friday announced …

The law should be enforced vigorouslyto eliminate manual scavenging in its entirety The death of five young men who were employed to clean a septic tank in an upmarket residential community in New Delhi is a shocking reminder that India’s high-profile sanitation campaign has done little to alter some basic …

This newspaper always draws the line between news and views A reader wrote to us wondering whether discussions on technological disruptions and their impact on the news ecology are a ploy to deflect attention from the failings of the news media. He listed a set of “non-stories” — speculations at …

Reinvigorate the crop insurance scheme to provide social protection to every farmer Excess rains and floods in Kerala, deficit rainfall in eastern and north-eastern India, and associated large-scale crop losses have again highlighted the need for providing social protection to poor farmers. A highly subsidised Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana …

The Kerala model can be implemented across India with the same secular and gender-sensitive spirit Kumari died on September 1. She had contracted leptospirosis while doing relief work in Kerala after the floods, away from her own home which had not been affected. She was a health volunteer and prominent …

There are several moderate but effective instruments available to the government to help the rupee find an equilibrium The travails of the rupee have dominated newspaper headlines over the last fortnight. Its value has fallen precipitously against the dollar, and is now hovering around the 72 level; it was just …

Archaeologists have discovered a statue of a lion’s body and a human head in the southern city of Aswan, Egypt. Antiquities Ministry said the sphinx made of sandstone was found in the Temple of Kom Ombo. It dates back to the Ptolemaic Dynasty, which ruled Egypt for some 300 years …

Stone mortars used for process studied Prehistoric humans had a thirst for craft beer and were brewing such beverages at least 5,000 years earlier than thought, say scientists who have found evidence of alcohol production in the Eastern Mediterranean. Archeologists from the Stanford University in the U.S. and University of …

MusicalKinky Bootshas broken new ground in the socially conservative nation, with shows in theatres across cities Sign language interpreters swung their hips and gestured at deaf audience members to the rhythm of a rollicking performance by drag queens singing and dancing on stage behind them. Nothing surprising for a Broadway …

For consumers, the speakers are being used instead of radio or television for on-demand news “What’s the news?” has become a familiar refrain for consumers with smart speakers, opening up a new channel for publishers but also raising concerns about the growing influence of tech platforms in media. Devices such …

State-owned Union Bank of India has decided to quit the Antwerp diamond hub in Belgium as the branch did not generate expected business, a senior bank official said. The Finance Ministry had advised all the public sector banks to review their overseas business and close branches that are not profitable …

‘External sources key to fall in rupee’ The measures announced by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Friday to address widening current account deficit and attract inflows to stabilise the currency may not yield result immediately and the rupee could be under further pressure. The steps were primarily aimed at easing …

Spending on elections, other populist measures to blame, says ICRA Funding of farm loan waivers, poll-related spending and other populist measures are likely to ensure that States are set to miss their fiscal consolidation targets budgeted at the beginning of the year, says a report. “Given the factors such as …

Israel is set to raze down Khan al-Ahmar, isolating West Bank from East Jerusalem For the anxious Palestinian residents of Khan al-Ahmar, there’s little left to do but wait. After the West Bank hamlet lost its last legal protection against demolition late last week, Israeli forces could swoop in any …

A total of 2.37 million people have been evacuated in Guangdong province Typhoon Mangkhut slammed into mainland China late on Sunday after leaving a trail of destruction in Hong Kong and Macau and killing at least 59 people in the northern Philippines. The world’s biggest storm this year felled trees …

Says it was the Kukis who started conflict The Isak-Muivah faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN-IM) has termed as baseless the “accusation” by the Kuki tribal group that it was responsible for ethnic cleansing in Manipur more than two decades ago. The Kuki-Naga conflict in the 1990s …

Aims for early Chandrayaan-2 mission The late-night dark skies at Sriharikota lit up in bright orange hues as the PSLV-C42 lifted off and vanished into the thick black clouds, carrying two satellites from the United Kingdom – NovaSAR and S1-4 from the first launch pad at the Satish Dhawan Space …

On the heels of a Twitter exchange, the IT-BPO major has let go of a discriminating employee Information technology company Tech Mahindra has, on the back of a former employee’s sustained Twitter campaign, sacked a senior company official in charge of the training and diversity portfolio. The move came following …

Govt. told to renew passport of petitioner The Delhi High Court has held that denial of passport or its non-renewal affects the fundamental rights guaranteed under the Constitution, while directing the government to renew immediately the passport of a man whose residential status in Canada was in jeopardy due to …