The Asian Development Bank has approved a US$ 1.5 billion (around Rs 11,185 crore) loan to India for COVID-19 vaccine procurement.
'Given the possibility that our unstable northern and western borders may become 'live' at short notice, any major systemic change which impacts combat effectiveness should be brought about in a cautious and progressive manner.'
Urge them to end 'avalanche of plastic'
The Centre on Monday earmarked a separate Rs 2,217 crore for 42 urban centres to tackle air pollution and announced the much-awaited voluntary vehicle scrapping policy to phase out old and polluting vehicles, even as it shrunk the budgetary allocation for the environment ministry from the last fiscal by nearly eight percent. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, in her budget speech for 2021-22, announced a total of Rs 2869.93 crore for the ministry, Rs 230 crore less than the last fiscal. Officials said the outlay has been lesser this time as the economy is recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic.
While Bangladesh ranked 75, Myanmar and Pakistan are in the 78th and 88th position. Last year, India's rank was 102 out of 117 countries.
In December 2016, the Supreme Court directed the central government to have a graded action plan to tackle the menace of air pollution. There are two plans - Comprehensive Action Plan and Graded Response Action Plan.
Agri-enterprises are finding it hard to expand due to lack of commercial guidance.
Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) on Monday said it has received 10,722 emission reduction certificates from the United Nations for a waste heat recovery project at its Mumbai High fields.
Negotiators from nearly 200 countries have accepted a new climate agreement after the COP26 summit in Glasgow concluded its extra time plenary on Saturday with a deal, which recognises India's intervention for the world to 'phase down' rather than "phase out" fossil fuels.
It is not easy to be positive on Indian economy. But it is worth a try to do so this festive season thanks the positive developments of the recent past.
India's biggest firm, Reliance Industries, has decided to cut salaries by 10 per cent in its oil and refining divisions. Several smaller companies like Kajaria Ceramics have followed suit with cuts as high as 40 per cent for those earning more than Rs 50 lakh.
"The idea is to inform industries about sustainable practices that will reduce their carbon footprint as well as boost their bottomlines," Smarter Dharma founder Sriram Kuchimanchi tells Geetanjali Krishna.
Mukul Nagpaul explains why any diet you hate is guaranteed to fail, no matter how much weight you lose.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said he wanted reduction in the fiscal and revenue deficits, an increase in public investment, and cuts on wasteful subsidies.
The duty reduction in feedstock would strengthen the domestic manufacturing in India making it more competitive leading to surge in exports of finished goods.
The reduction of tension on the Chinese border may have reduced the urgency of a Biden-Modi meeting, but the sooner Modi starts a bromance with Biden the better as he had done with Obama and Trump, suggests Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
The all-powerful GST Council on Friday decided to charge food delivery platforms such as Swiggy and Zomato a tax even as it extended concessional tax rates on certain COVID-19 drugs by three months till December 31. The Council, which comprises the Union finance minister and her state counterparts, decided to continue keeping petrol and diesel out of the GST purview as subsuming the current excise duty and VAT into one national rate would impact revenues. Briefing reporters on the decisions taken by the Council at a meeting here, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said GST has been exempted on muscular atrophy drugs like Zolgensma and Viltepso, which cost crores of rupees.
Less than six months ago, Delhi was gasping for breath. Authorities said air quality had reached "unbearable levels". Schools were shut, flights were diverted, and people were asked to wear masks, avoid polluted areas and keep doors and windows closed. But during the lockdown that began on Mar 22, the concentration of poisonous PM2.5 particles in a cubic metre of air averaged at 44.18, according to a Reuters analysis of government data, indicating a rare "good" rating, the safest level on the scale.
There is a reason Jodie Underhill is called 'garbage girl'. She has been dirtying her hands in a crusade against filth for the last 5 years.
The BJP has incorporated caste as a significant component of its politics.
The Cabinet on Wednesday approved $1.5 billion (about Rs 9,000 crore) World Bank support for the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) in rural areas.
Bharat Krishak Samaj demanded that the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana should be replaced with a new crop insurance and compensation scheme.
At the same, it said the latest figures do not establish a clear trend and in no way the government is relaxed about anything at this point.
'By leveraging the immense talent, passion and drive for innovation held by all members of the F1 community, we hope to make a significant positive impact on the environment and communities in which we operate'
Turmeric, carrots, garlic and strawberries. It's time to include them in your diet.
The alarming pollution level is literally 'capital punishment' for Delhi'ites who are being robbed of three years of their lives due to it, Delhi High Court said on Thursday, holding government's inaction and stubble burning in Punjab as being responsible for the "genocide".
As the coronavirus outbreak enters its fifth month, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) requested $1.6 billion to support its humanitarian response for children impacted by the pandemic. The health crisis is 'quickly becoming a child rights crisis. And without urgent action, a further 6,000 under-fives could die each day', it said.
Excise duty cut to boost Polymers sector.
'We expect the new government to look into the issue of penalties imposed on technology firms involved in UID related projects.'
The apex court also restrained e-commerce websites like Flipkart and Amazon from selling firecrackers which are beyond the permissible limit.
"GST should not become a 'grossly scary tax'. It should be a 'good and simple tax'," Surjewala said.
The government has asked the eleven municipal areas to step up monitoring in old cities, urban slums and other high density pockets like camps and clusters for migrant workers for management of COVID-19 cases.
E-cigarettes pose a huge health risk to users, who more often than not are adolescents and young adults
EU operates as one block at the climate change negotiations and takes a single greenhouse gas emission reduction target under the Paris Agreement
Air quality in the city of 16 million is usually bad in winter.
Union health minister Harsh Vardhan said a total of 2,51,447 persons travelling in 2,315 flights have been screened so far.
There is nothing specific announced for Chemicals Industry, however, reduction in customs duty
'A balanced head plus heart approach would be a full opening up of the economy including manufacturing and internal travel in the country but excluding COVID-19 hotspots,' recommends Jaimini Bhagwati.
The oil sector has been quite lucky for the Modi government. It has often provided an opportunity to the government to mend its finances, notes A K Bhattacharya.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Friday
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