The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has unveiled the draft design specifications for Solar Cold Storage (SCS), setting the stage for public feedback and stakeholder engagement.

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) on February 29, 2024, issued the Draft Central Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Rules, 2024, to further amend the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989.

A working group under the Niti Aayog said an 'open-ended' procurement of wheat and rice from farmers at MSP acts as a disincentive for crop diversification, and suggested that the Centre should purchase these commodities only to meet the requirement under the food law and other welfare schemes.

India has 13,874 leopards, with the heart of the country — Madhya Pradesh — having the largest number of its third-biggest felid, a landmark report released by the Centre on February 29, 2024 showed. The pan-India population of the Indian leopard (Panthera pardus fusca) was estimated at 13,874 (Range: 12,616–15,132) individuals.

The world is getting warmer and natural hazards are becoming more intense, likely bringing higher economic losses in the future. Today, four major weather perils result in expected economic losses of USD 200 billion annually. With more severe weather coming, economic losses are set to rise.

The Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change notified the Living Animal Species Rules 2024 stating, Every person who is in possession of any animal species (in schedule IV) shall report the details and make an application for registration electronically to the Management Authority or the authorised officer within a period of six month

The Central Government has amended the rules regarding late payment surcharges in the power sector. These amendments likely aim to address issues related to delayed payments by DISCOMs to power generators. The amendments now allow long-term power generators to sell power in the short-term market.

The heatwave affecting India from March to May 2022 was exceptional for its record temperatures, its early onset, its unusually long duration and the large area that was affected.

With municipal waste set to rise by two thirds and its costs to almost double within a generation, only a drastic reduction in waste generation will secure a liveable and affordable future, according to this new report by the UNEP. 

India has made a policy choice to prioritize the institutionalization of the SDGs, not to look at sustainable development as a standalone or parallel framework but to make them an integral part of the national thinking about development.