Society, Culture, Religion and History

A committee has been constituted to draft a new National Water Policy (NWP) and make key changes in the water governance structure and regulatory framework. It is chaired by Mihir Shah, who is a former Planning Commission member and a water expert. The committee is expected to produce a report within six months. The Revitalising Rainfed Agriculture (RRA) Network, a pan India network working on evolving operational processes for planning and convergence to facilitate the revival of rainfed agriculture has made its submission to the committee drafting the NWP.

Kerala retains the top slot with a score of 70, followed closely by Himachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Telangana in the latest edition of NITI Aayog’s annual assessment of progress made by states in achieving the sustainable development goals (SDG). “Kerala is well on track to achieve UN Sustainable Development Goals,” tweeted Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.

Maheen Mirza’s film ‘Agar wo desh banati/ If she built a country’ looks at the widespread displacement on an unprecedented scale for mines and industries in Raigarh, Chhattisgarh. The devastation of the environment, the cutting-off of the relationship of the people with their forests, the appallingly scant resettlement and compensation for the local adivasi people and the devastating consequences for their livelihoods is dealt with.

Sustainable development goals index 2019-20: India's composite score improves

Groundwater contamination has emerged as an alarming issue in India and a recent UN report reveals that India ranks 120^th among the 122 countries in terms of water quality index. As high as 70 percent of the water supply in India is contaminated, resulting in nearly 0.2 million deaths each year.

Poisoned waters: Fluoride contamination of groundwater

A new study by the Centre for Science and Environment has exposed that levels of salt and fat in junk food is far higher than proposed thresholds in the country. The tests at the New Delhi based non-profit’s Environment Monitoring Laboratory indicate that food manufacturers sell packaged food and fast food products with unhealthy levels of nutrients. 

This compendium by Mihir Kumar Maitra is a valuable resource for all practitioners engaged in watershed management activities in the field. The first part of the book addresses the technical and engineering aspects useful in developing natural resources like land, surface water, groundwater, crops and forest while the second part discusses aspects related to  formulation, appraisal and implementation of watershed projects by involving the beneficiaries in the process.

New Delhi, December 10 (India Science Wire): Even as efforts are underway to replace dry latrines with modern septic toilets, a group of scientists at Council of Scientific and Industrial Research’s Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology (CSIR-IHBT) have worked to save one type of traditional dry toilet. 

While climate activists and world leaders were gathering in Paris in the first week of December 2015 to discuss the impact of climate change, the metropolis Chennai in the southern corner of India was inundated with floods. The worst flood to hit the region in over 100 years took the lives of more than 300 people. And at the same time, access to clean water eluded millions in the city.