Down to earth

Down To Earth

How negotiable is your city?

Centre asks cities to benchmark their urban transportation services

MORE STORIES

• Coming soon: carpool for Delhi, NCR

• Coal mine expansion made easy

• Maharashtra rejects court's traffic plan

Clouds over solar

India’s solar power policy is now entering round two. And there is much that needs to be reviewed and reworked as the business of solar energy has seen massive turbulence in India as well as globally. In the first phase (2010 to 2013) of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) the target was to set up 1,000-2,000 MW of grid-based solar power in the country. By 2013, the country has indeed commissioned some 1,000 MW of solar power, but 700 MW of this target comes from the non-JNNSM state of Gujarat.

A year of leadership failure

The last image of 2012 is protesters storming the bastion of Delhi, outraged at the brutal rape of a young girl and the culture of violence against women. This outburst by the educated middle class, many of them young women, was spontaneous as much as it was leaderless. But as we move to the next year, we need to think about the response of the government to this protest and others. We need to understand if the Indian state has any clue about what is going on under its nose—and feet.

A year of leadership failure

The last image of 2012 is protesters storming the bastion of Delhi, outraged at the brutal rape of a young girl and the culture of violence against women. This outburst by the educated middle class, many of them young women, was spontaneous as much as it was leaderless. But as we move to the next year, we need to think about the response of the government to this protest and others. We need to understand if the Indian state has any clue about what is going on under its nose—and feet.

Companies fined heavily for mining over limit in Odisha

 State authorities send notices to 103 mines
Odisha's department of steel and mines has slapped a fine of Rs 67,900 crore on companies operating 103 mines in the Koira and Joda mining circles of Sundargarh and Keonjhar districts, respectively for mining more mineral than permitted.

Supreme Court lifts ban on 63 more mines in Bellary

 Sets condition of compensatory payment to resume operations
The Supreme Court allowed operations in 63 out of 72 category B mines in Bellary, Chitradurga and Tumkur in Karnataka, subject to conditions.

Irongate opened

 
Shah Commission report shows how authorities, mine owners stripped Goa of iron

Analysis of EIA Report - Development of Waterfront at Mormugao Port, Goa

The Mormugao port located in North Goa is planning to develop a waterfront (new harbor and breakwater) west of the breakwater at the existing Mormugao port. WAPCOS has prepared the Environment Impact Assessment report for the project.

Fight over finance: where's the money? ask developing countries

By: Arnab Pratim
Date: Dec 3, 2012

Developed countries shy away from promising more money to developing nations from next year till 2020 for mitigation and adaptation measures

Climate finance will be on the top of the minds of negotiators as the UN conference on climate change at Doha enters the second week on December 3. In the first seven days of the conference, the developed countries shied away from promising more money from next year until 2020 to developing countries to undertake mitigation and adaptation measures. The US $30 billion fast-start funding which started in 2010 ends this year and the next batch of funding, which is still under deliberation, begins only in 2020.

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India protects its farmers’ interests at climate talks

By: Indrajit Bose
Date: Dec 3, 2012

Successfully stalls attempts of developed countries’ move to bring agriculture under mitigation efforts

India fiercely defended its farmers’ interests as the first week of Doha climate talks continued up to the wee hours of Sunday, December 2. Taking a firm stand that agriculture was a clear out-of-bounds sector with respect to emissions reduction, India stalled all attempts of the developed world to further discuss the issue in the ongoing CoP 18. The developing world’s long-standing position has been that any discussion on agriculture must be held in the realm of adaptation, not mitigation. The developed world wants to introduce the element of mitigation in agriculture.

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