Coal based thermal power stations are responsible for one of the largest industrial waste streams in India—coal ash. As fugitive emissions in the dry form and as leakage of ash slurry from ash ponds, coal ash is a major environmental and health concern today. It has been under the regulatory scanner for more than two decades.

Coal-based power is one of the most resourceintensive and polluting industries. On 07 December 2015, the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Climate Change introduced stricter environmental standards for coal-based thermal power plants under the Environment Protection Act, 1986.

Crop stubble burning is a major source of pollution in Northwest India. It will require significant and continuous investment to end the practice. On the other hand, despite the growth in ‘renewables’, India’s reliance on coal to meet its base power load demand will continue in the foreseeable future.

Four years after Biomedical Waste Management Rules were notified in India, implementation has improved in certain areas but continues to remain iffy on key parameters. COVID-19 has brought the need for extremely careful handling of biomedical waste into renewed focus.

This factsheet offers a status update on the state of compliance with the December 2015 norms, with respect to particulate matter, sulphur dioxide, and oxides of nitrogen. Compliance with water and mercury norms has not been included in this assessment.

A recent study estimates that the world has produced about 8.3 billion metric tonnes of plastics between 1950 and 2015 — 80 per cent of this is plastic waste. A meagre 9 per cent of this waste has been recycled.

Organic and natural farming in India is still at a nascent stage. To scale it up and make it a mass movement, governments at the Centre and in states must take big steps. Mainstreaming organic and natural farming will address the ecological, economic and existential crisis in Indian agriculture.

COVD-19 is an unprecedented opportunity to change the way we travel, make commuting choices, and create inclusive and healthy spaces for overall well being says this paper published by the Centre

In essence, the notion of benefit sharing is recognition of the natural rights of affected communities over mineral resources in their traditional and historical homelands. Communities have a right to benefit first—culturally, economically and politically. These rights can be seen from the prism of both immediate as well as long-term benefits.