Bihar faces drought-like situation again, farmers prepare to migrate for work

11 districts in state were pronounced drought-hit in 2022; Kharif paddy sowing hit this year too 

Sowing wheat early in eastern India can increase yield by 69%, finds study

Moving paddy transplantation forward by two weeks can lead to 36% greater wheat yield  

A monsoon without rains in week since official declaration

It has been 11 days since the official onset of the monsoon but the rains have not yet arrived as expected

Border, forest officials seize live pangolins, deer horns on Bihar-Nepal border

The pangolins were seized from the Valmiki Tiger Reserve in West Champaran district; the deer horns were found in Araria district

Heavy rains in Bihar, starting from June, waterlogged litchi orchards, killing trees

Bihar’s Muzaffarpur district along with its neighbours, accounts for nearly 40% of India’s litchi production

Elephant tusks seized, four arrested in Bihar

The prime accused repeatedly claimed that he was the proud owner of two captive elephants that died four years ago and that their tusks were kept …

COVID-19 Update: SARS-CoV-2 is predominantly airborne, says new Lancet study

Karanataka Chief Minister hospitalized after being diagnosed with COVID-19 for second time  

COVID-19 vaccination begins in Bihar; 30,000 health workers to be inoculated today

The vaccination will be staggered over three phases with health and frontline workers and people of 50 to get the shot first

COVID-19 Update: Bihar elections to be the first in pandemic

Nearly 70 million tests have been conducted for COVID-19 so far in India, the MoHFW said September 25

Bumper kharif amid excess stock? Is India staring at hard agri decisions

Restrict procurement from Punjab and Haryana; stop procuring from states offering bonus on MSP; divert excessive stock for ethanol and cattle feed

Reports of COVID-19 antigen tests sent to non-patients in Bihar districts

Other irregularities include details such as mobile numbers and age missing from the record, names entered wrongly and others

Data gaps in heatwave deaths widen as India battles record-smashing temperatures

Human casualty is an important indicator of loss and damage due to heatwaves — a significant climate-related extreme weather event

Millets should be mainstreamed for better nutritional outcomes in children

Civil society organisations can play an enabling role in helping the government to combat malnutrition by introducing millets in ICDS  

Budget 2023-24: ‘Blood bath’ of MGNREGA as welfare scheme sees lowest allocation in last 2 years

Experts claim the reduced budget allocation to Rs 60,000 crore will not provide any employment to the economically vulnerable population

Bihar defers tendering for sand block operators after NGT order

The state floated the tender on the basis of an invalid district survey report, says NGT

India has 500 million tonnes of gold ore reserves: Govt

Bihar has the largest reserves of gold ores, followed by Rajasthan and Karnataka  

Importance of lakes not realised enough: Flood control chief

Sharad Chandra, director, flood forecast monitoring division, Central Water Commission, spoke to DTE on increasing instances of urban flooding&…

Sealed Nepal border, reverse migration puts villagers in Bihar's border town in a spot

The farmers in flood-prone villages lost access to a more lucrative market in Nepal, resort to distress sales to cut losses 

Choking Mahananda: How Siliguri’s waste, water crisis is turning on its people

Rapid urbanisation, inefficient waste management and encroachment have turned the Mahananda into a drain. And farmers are losing livelihoods

Should a drought in Bihar be declared? Experts say yes, govt says wait

Following central guidelines on declaring drought, good rainfall on Aug 4-5 predicted, say govt officials

Daily Court Digest: Major environment orders (May 19, 2020)

Down To Earth brings you the top environmental cases heard in the Supreme Court, the high courts and the National Green Tribunal  

Futile deadlines: Afforestation drive in 5 states along Ganga is over with just 22% of target being met

Experts have questioned as to whether the Ganga catchment area is really available for afforestation

Monsoon 2022: Why a drought wasn’t declared in 4 states with drought-like conditions

A report shows drought-like situation in over 700 blocks of 91 districts of Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Bihar & West Bengal

Fertility rate down in most states, NFHS-5 finds

Kerala only state to record increase in fertility rate, phase 1 of survey finds; urban women had lower fertility rate than women in rural areas …

Locust fears haunt Bihar’s farmers, experts downplay potential threat

There is a likely threat, but the possibility of locusts reaching the state are very less, say experts