A BJP government in Bengal inherits more problems than it might care to admit at its moment of triumph, points out Ramesh Menon
The government is contemplating changes to the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) to deal with environmental claims and liabilities of defaulting companies to make the law future-ready and meet climate action goals, sources told Business Standard. Currently, the IBC has various categories of claims and creditors, including those related to environmental liabilities.
India hopes to bridge gap with US to buffer against a Paris agreement that restricts country's developmental space.
Researchers at IIT Guwahati have developed energy-efficient bricks designed to keep buildings naturally cool, offering a promising solution for sustainable construction. These bricks incorporate Phase Change Materials (PCMs) to absorb and release heat, reducing the need for air conditioning and lowering energy consumption.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday met Microsoft co-founder and billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates on the sidelines of the climate summit here and discussed ways to further sustainable development, steps to mitigate climate change and vaccine research. The meeting between Modi and the American business magnate, whose foundation is focusing on fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, took place after the former launched the Initiative for the Resilient Island States (IRIS) for developing infrastructure of small island nations. Prime Minister Modi expressed appreciation for the work being done by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in India, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement.
Alarmed by the confusion created by the public expression of divergent opinions by his key advisors on climate change, the prime minister summoned Saran and Ramesh and asked them to put their heads together and come forward with an agreed text that would reflect both their concerns, a senior government official confirmed.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has accused West Bengal's Mamata Banerjee government of diverting resources to 'Bangladeshi Muslim infiltrators' and warned of losing Bengal if she remains in power.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh recalls writing to Narendra Modi in 2010 about conserving the Great Indian Bustard, amid recent announcements of successful conservation efforts.
The report, Facing a changing world: Women, Population and Climate, released in the United Nations, stressed that the majority of the 1.5 billion people living on one dollar a day or less are women, and they have so far been overlooked in the Climate Change debate.
The BJP has criticised West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, calling her a 'symbol of anarchy' after the Supreme Court questioned her actions during an ED search. The party claims her 'jungle raj' will end with the TMC's defeat in the upcoming assembly polls.
Volkswagen has unveiled a significant facelift for its Taigun compact SUV, introducing a new 8-speed automatic gearbox for the 1.0 TSI engine, a panoramic sunroof, and a host of design and interior enhancements to sharpen its competitive edge in the bustling SUV market. But is it enough?
Had it not been for the global concern with respect to 'climate change', the nuclear states with a large stockpile of weapons would not have allowed other countries to adopt nuclear energy, said Dr Anil Kakodkar, member of the Atomic Energy Commission.
The experts said that climate change is not only raising temperatures and making India's heatwaves hotter, but also changing weather patterns that further drive dangerous weather extremes.
However, 157 investors managing a total of $14.2 trillion were taking first steps towards addressing climate change
This was perhaps a missed opportunity for India to spotlight a core domestic challenge: The scale of workforce preparation required for a young, populous, rapidly growing country seeking to reach net zero, points out Radha Roy Biswas.
Climate change and environmental degradation will force as many as one billion people to migrate over the next four decades to southeast Asia, central America and parts of west Africa.
Subject to finance & tech from rich countries through an ambitious, fair Paris deal
Small and marginal farmers practising agriculture on rain-fed farms will bear the brunt of climate change
At the roundtable Two, one of the four simultaneous meetings at the conference, a strongly worded statement by Minister of External Affairs S M Krishna said that the talks should focus on the developed countries who are reluctant to meet their commitments on emission reduction, let alone provide technological and financial support to developing countries.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Sunday India would continue to work with like-minded people to make the Copenhagen climate change conference a success.
"Climate change is a global challenge. It can only be succesfully overcome through a global collaborative and cooperative effort. India is prepared to play its role as a responsible member of the international community and make its contribution. He said every citizen of this plant must have an equal share of the planetory atmospheric space. Long-term convergence of per capita emissions is, therefore, the only equitable basis for a global compact on climate change.
Official records reveal that over one lakh mature trees have been felled in Assam since May 2016 for various development projects, raising concerns about ecological loss despite compensatory afforestation efforts.
UN chief Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday said getting a binding agreement sealed on climate change was among his top priorities for the year after the Copenhagen conference that marked "an important step forward".
India imports nearly 60 percent of its LPG, with most cargo previously coming through the Strait of Hormuz, now closed for commercial shipping.
This follows concern expressed by environment and forest minister Jairam Ramesh over poor public allocations for research on the impact of climate change in the Lok Sabha on Thursday.
He said the coastal and deltaic regions of India are reported to be vulnerable to the risks of flooding.
"From the Indian point of view, if I were a politician, I'd continue to play it hard," explains Mike Hulme, professor at the University of East Anglia's prestigious climate change programme. "From a rational perspective, India has to do what's best for its people."
The apex global health body reckons that about 150,000 deaths occur annually in low-income countries due to the adverse effects of climate change, chiefly malnutrition due to climate change-driven crop failures, stomach diseases and malaria.
Javadekar was addressing the 18th BASIC ministerial meeting on climate change here which is being attended by ministers of Brazil, China and South Africa.
US President Barack Obama has sought the help of major countries of the world including China and India in addressing the urgent issue of climate change and clean energy.
The government is finalising the national action plan on climate change and would release this in June, said Shyam Saran, Prime Minister's special envoy for climate change. The action plan would focus on key issues like improving energy efficiency, harnessing solar energy, studying the melting and cracking of icebergs on the Himalayas and understanding the dynamics of coastal and island territories.The plan would contain mechanisms for implementation of various policies.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee engaged in a war of words during election rallies, with Modi accusing the TMC of supporting divisive forces and Banerjee alleging the BJP plans to divide the state.
Tea planters in Darjeeling have raised that a shortage of commercial LPG, triggered by the ongoing conflict in West Asia, could hit tea processing during the first flush, the delicate early-season harvest that commands the highest premiums and often sets the tone for the year.
Downing Street said Johnson reiterated the year 2021 as an important one for UK-India ties and also re-emphasised the UK's commitment to the wider Indo-Pacific region, ahead of the first deployment of the HMS Queen Elizabeth carrier group to the region next year.
Climate Challenge India, a climate change mobilisation effort by Bangalore-based NGO Center for Social Markets has produced a film titled In Good Company: Corporate India and the Climate Challenge that partly tries to answer the question but also raises some red flags on the issue. The film was launched in May at the World Business Summit on Climate Change in Copenhagen. As CSM's founder and climate change campaigner Malini Mehra explains that the film was a labour of love.
The Supreme Court of India has stayed a notification by the Rajasthan government that would have de-notified a portion of the National Chambal Sanctuary for sand mining, citing the threat to endangered species and the illegal nature of the activity.
Clinton has already said that she is visiting New Delhi to start a strategic dialogue which will include issues like climate change and clean energy. To put the issue of climate change on fast track, Clinton will be joined by President Barrack Obama's special envoy for climate change, Todd Stern, who is known as a man in hurry.
As Riteish Deshmukh turns director again with Raja Shivaji, we look at past actors who stepped behind the camera and delivered some of Hindi cinema's most memorable films.
Better living conditions must be an integral part of all political campaigns. But this will only happen if the public pressures the political class to understand the irreversibility of climate change and make the environment a crucial part of their manifestos.
After locking horns with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change on the glacier melting issue, environment minister Jairam Ramesh said on Thursday the research of the Indian panel on climate change would be more 'robust and solid' than the UN body's.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances