Political

Q: Odisha is not much known for farmers' suicide the way we hear it in Vidarbha, Andhra Pradesh etc. But of late such cases are being reported in the media. What's the reason?

A: When you look at the issue of farmers' suicide, it's an indication of the crisis that exists in the agriculture sector. This is linked to monoculture and intensive or industrial farming model that have been implemented in the country. Vidharbha for instance has been in the news on the issue of farmers' suicide mainly because there is one NGO namely Vidharbha Jan Andolan Samiti which regularly compiles the figures of farmers suicide and feeds to the media. Unfortunately there are no such NGOs elsewhere to do a similar job. So therefore we do not get the real picture of farmers distress in other areas where conditions are equally bad. If suppose this NGO also stops compiling suicide figures, our impression about Vidharbha as a suicide belt of India will also disappear. In other words, not only in Vidharbha, agriculture across the country is in a terrible crisis.

National Environment Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) in association with University of Liverpool (UK) is conducting online survey on the functioning of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) in India and the UK. The purpose of the survey is to reflect on the experiences of professionals with EIA in the past and also to look ahead to the future role of EIA.

The first three parts of the survey is based on what your experiences of EIA are while the fourth part relates to what EIA should be like. The survey is anonymous and completing it will take approximately 10 to 15 minutes of your time. Please note the ‘save’ option in the survey does not actually let you save and come back to the survey later.

The Sitaram Jindal Foundation formerly known as S.J. Jindal Trust, set up in 1969 is a charitable organisation engaged in promoting education, healthcare & rural development. The foundation believes in serving humanity without consideration of caste, creed, religion or gender. It has no political, religious or commercial affiliation. The foundation has set up several schools, colleges, hospitals and has awarded scholarships to more than 1 lakh students.

Organizer: National Institute of Science Technology and Development Studies (NISTADS)

Venue: NISTADS Conference Hall, K.S. Krishnan Marg, New Delhi

Topics:

• Critical reflections on the state of thinking on innovation in India
• Innovation manifestos
• Food and agriculture 
• Medicines and technology 
• Information and communication technology 
• Low carbon innovations 
• Grassroots innovations 
• Indigenous knowledge

Established in 1932, Sir Dorabji Tata Trust and the Allied Trusts, collectively form one of the largest private sector philanthropic organisations with an annual disbursement of Rs. 300+ crores. The Trusts offer individual assistance to students and to poor patients, make financial contributions to Institutions and provide financial support to over 600 NGOs in the country.

To administer their grant making and management activities, the Trusts are looking for a suitable professional for the position of Program Associate - Civil Society, Human Rights and Governance.

This report presents the results based on climate change scenarios and identifies potential adaptation strategies. The study is part of the ‘Climate Change Impacts on Freshwater Ecosystems in the Himalayas’ (CCIFEH) project, a joint initiative of WWF-India and WWF-Nepal, supported by WWF-Netherlands and aims to study and understand climate change impacts on freshwater ecosystems, livelihoods and the economy.

Change in climate conditions and the frequency of natural disasters in recent times has made it imperative to find lasting adaptation solutions for the agriculture sector. Given that almost 60 per cent of the country’s population relies on this sector for its livelihood and that it contributes approximately 15.7 per cent of India’s GDP, an analysis of changes which could impact crop yields and subsequently lead to an instable food security scenario is necessary.

 This publication will serve to be useful reference material for policymakers, implementing agencies, environmentalists and those who enjoy the beauty and diversity of India’s water bodies.

Lakes are not only a source of water and livelihood for many of our populations, but they also support a large proportion of our biodiversity. The wetlands, shallower peripheral areas of large lakes, provide breeding and nesting grounds to huge population of birds, many of which migrate to India from as far north as Siberia.