'This is not a Sanjay Baru or Natwar Singh type of book. It's not a memoir. It's not a book to reveal conversations, real or imaginary. This is not a book to position myself at the centre of the world.' Jairam Ramesh on his stint as environment minister.
In just 10 weeks since January, at least 13 tigers died, five each in January and March in various reserves across the country. Last year, 60 deaths were recorded. Now, merely 3,500 big cats are left in the wild of which 1,411 are in India.
The impending expulsion of Trinamool Congress (TMC) member Mahua Moitra from the Lok Sabha, three bills to replace criminal laws and a proposed law for the appointment of election commissioners are issues set to dominate the Winter Session of Parliament, with the government urging the Opposition to ensure a conducive environment for discussions in the House.
He further added that the people of India respect different languages, religion, food and customs which varies from region to region. "That's the India that I believe in, where everybody has a place and everybody compromises little bit," he said.
Besides a career in journalism, he had a keen interest in environmental issues and took some initiatives for the cause.
Stressing that every question paper has been "accounted for", the NTA said that purported images of the question paper circulating on social media have no relation with the actual paper.
Shashi Tharoor has also been retained as the chairman of the panel on Information Technology.
CBI has also named unknown officials of the union environment ministry in the PE.
'The space required for wild cheetah populations to thrive was grossly under-estimated.' 'Cheetahs, because of their social system and ecologically fragile nature, live at only 1 cheetah per 100 sq kms even in the best habitats of Africa.'
Actor and Samajwadi Party MP Jaya Bachchan said she was happy that the House was discussing the most important ambassadors of the country, the film fraternity.
The opposition Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) was in the grip of a crisis on Saturday with the Janata Dal-United saying the alliance was collapsing amid indications that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar will switch back to the National Democratic Alliance, prompting the Congress to allege that the Bharatiya Janata Party is doing its best to cause a 'mini implosion' in the coalition.
The members of Parliament attending Parliamentary Standing Committee meetings will have to sit six feet apart, and not more than two witnesses from the ministry concerned can appear before the panel at a time. As per the protocol for meetings of Rajya Sabha Committees, members have to ensure conformity with physical distancing norms.
In total, 17 people, including Telangana Chief Minister and Congress leader Revanth Reddy, have been issued notices to appear before the Delhi police's investigation officer (in connection with the case. Sources, however, said Reddy is "unlikely" to join the probe and may send his representative.
Presentations were given by the Department of Science and Technology, Department of Biotechnology, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and the principal scientific adviser to the government before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science and Technology, Environment and Climate on the Centre's COVID-19 preparedness.
He was speaking on the sidelines of a function to inaugurate the new building to house the Environment Ministry.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday dubbed the electoral bonds as the 'world's biggest extortion scheme' and alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the 'champion of corruption'.
One more cheetah has died at the Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh, making it the sixth adult feline to have died since March, according to a statement from the Madhya Pradesh Forest Department on Wednesday.
There are now 10 male cheetahs and as many females at MP's Kuno National Park.
Party leader Rahul Gandhi dubbed the Union Budget as a 'zero-sum budget', saying it has nothing for the salaried, middle class and the poor.
Right to apprenticeship, legal guarantee for MSP, passing a constitutional amendment to raise the 50 per cent cap on reservations for SCs, STs and OBCs, a nation-wide caste census and scrapping of Agnipath scheme are among the promises made by the Congress in its Lok Sabha polls manifesto released on Friday.
'The Sports Minister (Anurag Thakur) should speak out. The Prime Minister should speak out, there should be resignations, and heads should roll immediately.'
He said the South African cheetahs will first arrive at the Gwalior Air Force base in MP on Saturday morning and 30 minutes later they will be transported some 165km away to KNP in Sheopur district by IAF helicopters.
In an interview, Jairam Ramesh, former environment minister, speaks of the formation of a new Congress under the tutelage of Rahul Gandhi in which older leaders would play an advisory role.
A formal signing of an agreement is holding up their inter-continental translocation, wildlife experts have said.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of spreading fear, hatred and violence and said the country can not progress under these circumstances as he asked the government to be compassionate in handling farmers' problems to prevent suicides.
'It has even been suggested that Modi and Amit Shah, however grudgingly, harbour admiration for her controlling streak and steely resilience,' says Sunil Sethi.
Gadgil and the report prepared by the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP) headed by him are back in news after over two dozen people lost their lives in landslides and flash floods in the past few days in the hilly regions of Western Ghats in central Kerala districts of Kottayam and Idukki.
Introducing UCC is a challenging task for any government. The complexities are real and difficult to negotiate as it deals with sensitive religious and cultural sentiments. How can it strike an easy balance between individual rights and community interests?, asks Ramesh Menon.
The results of the assembly elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh are likely to play out during the winter session of Parliament beginning Wednesday.
"He (Modi) has created an environment in Jammu and Kashmir of hatred and anger, and the only people who benefit from violence and hatred are the Pakistanis," the Congress vice president said.
The fact that the government has no specific deadline to impose this policy was revealed through a response to an RTI application in February 2017.
The action taken by the Delhi Police on an FIR related to a toolkit shared by climate campaigner Greta Thunberg in support of the ongoing farmer protests has triggered a war of words between the Opposition and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.
The decision marks first successful policy intervention.
'Pollution acts as an endocrine disruptor.' 'When it acts as an endocrine disruptor it has an effect on the endocrine system of the human body and the effect on the pancreas is an important one.' 'The way you get type two diabetes is due to two defects.' 'One is the pancreas doesn't produce enough insulin.' 'The other physiological defect is insulin resistance.'
'Actually, the RSS is deeply ambivalent and uncomfortable with Gandhi as well as also Ambedkar, but it is not politically wise to oppose these two.' 'So Nehru is the main and only target.'
Rahul Gandhi said he had helped the party conceptualise its 'Nyay' scheme to help remonetise the economy.
CAF Bill's fate to be decided on Monday
Agarwal was admitted to hospital on Wednesday after he even gave up drinking water.
A Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice of India S A Bobde, hearing a petition filed by lawyer Vineet Dhanda seeking stern legal action against those disturbing peace and harmony in the country in the name of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, said, "The country is going through a critical time, the endeavour must be to bring peace and such petitions do not help."
'Today, environment has become an issue of political debate. It has become a media issue. I think that is a good development.'
