Agrarian Crisis:Roots

Agrarian Crisis:Roots

Agrarian Crisis:Roots: sandeepan Background: In the last 20 years, according to the government’s statistics, more than three lakh farmers have committed suicide in India. The situation of the farmers was never very good to begin with, but has been steadily declining and has reached its nadir right now. Earlier spontaneous agitations by farmers are getting…

Coal Cess: A POWERful issue

Coal Cess: A POWERful issue

Coal Cess: A POWERful issue:   India is a power-starved country. With annual per capita consumption of about 1,100Kwh, India lags behind most of the other developing countries. In countries such as Iran and South Africa, this exceeds 2,500 and 4,000, respectively. The global average stands at around 2,500. There is sizeable power capacity in…

Bonn Challenge Committment

Bonn Challenge Committment

Bonn Challenge Committment Background: In 2015, India made a Bonn Challenge commitment to place into restoration 13 million hectares (Mha) of degraded land by 2020 and an additional 8 Mha by 2030. India’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) have also pledged to sequester 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent additionally by 2030 through enhanced…

A Century Of Communism

A Century Of Communism

  A Century Of Communism The 100th anniversary of the Russian Revolution is to be celebrated this year. A hundred years ago, a group of Communist revolutionaries stormed the Winter Palace in St Petersburg to overthrow the first democratic government in Russian history. The new dawn they promised eventually became a nightmare for the millions…

Crop Residue Burning

Crop Residue Burning

Crop Residue Burning The issue of crop residue burning, mainly in Punjab, is in news, continuing the harm to environment and farmers’ health. Paddy is grown on an average area of around 30 lakh hectares in Punjab. After harvest, around 19.7 million tonnes of paddy straw is left in the fields and has to be…