By shunning all but organic farming techniques, the Himalayan state will cement its status as a paradigm of sustainability

The C Rangarajan committee’s proposal to nearly double the domestic price of natural gas, if implemented, could adversely affect the government’s subsidy reduction plan and make the new urea invest

The Sri Lankan government plans to introduce stringent new laws to control the usage of pesticides and chemical fertilizer as the indiscriminate usage of agrochemicals is considered as a major caus

New research suggests the chemicals are playing a significant and previously unknown role in the global decline of amphibians

Environment, in the Indian context, is closely linked to economic and sustainable development, a fact borne out by the winners in the environment category of the Times of India Social Impact Awards 2012.

A company that lights up poor homes with solar energy, an agricultural university that helps farmers improve yields with new technologies, and two non-governmental organizations working with people to revive shared resources were the jury’s picks for the year.

Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Wednesday kicked off the customary pre-Budget consultations. In a meeting with the finance minister, agriculturalists shared concerns on the government’s widening fiscal deficit. They also suggested direct cash transfer of fertiliser and food subsidies, which they claimed would save the government Rs 70,000-85,000 crore directly.

To protect the interests of farmers, they also urged the finance minister and his team to set up a regulator on foreign direct investment (FDI) in the retail segment.

‘Introduce Gross Environmental Product in planning and implementation activities’

Anil Joshi, founder of the Himalayan Environmental Studies & Conservation Organisation (HESCO) here, has urged the Uttarakhand Government to play the forerunner by introducing Gross Environmental Product (GEP) in its planning and implementation activities as the highly endangered health of the natural resources needed to be improved before it was too late.

Policy aims to incentivise fertilizer cos to set up new plants

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), on Thursday, approved a urea investment policy, which is likely to incentivise fertilizer companies to set up new plants and expand existing capacity. India imports over 30 per cent of its urea requirement and the policy aims at reducing that. But it is unlikely to have any impact on existing prices. “The new urea investment policy has been cleared,” sources said after the CCEA meeting here.

Tests conducted on soil samples to determine level of macro and micro nutrients

Study on the availability of micro and macro nutrients in soil samples collected from Valapurnadu Panchayat atop Kolli Hills reveals that it lacked three of the four main macro ingredients – organic carbon, nitrogen and potash. “On the other hand availability of zinc (micro nutrient) is also below average,” M. Janakiraman, a Soil Pedologist and Consultant said.