The government is considering a slew of proposals to revamp the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) from crop year 23–24, following a sharp drop in claims to premium ratio, rise in premium rates pushing the subsidy liability of the government. .... read more

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed the Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority (MCZMA) to prepare a time-bound action plan and to issue directions for the scientific handling of waste against damage to the environment in Mumbai city near the coastal road. .... read more

Three months of the four-month-long Southwest monsoon season are over, but Kerala’s seasonal rainfall only reached the ‘normal’ mark in recent days. In contrast, Bengaluru and southern Karnataka districts have witnessed a wet season since June.

Working in the direction to make the aviation sector environment friendly, the Union Minister for Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya Scindia has informed that by 2024 more than 90 airports in the country will be carbon neutral.

In view of the changing climate conditions, the government has recently decided to further strengthen the disaster management capacity of the State by extending latest equipment and intensive training to the frontline organizations like ODRAF and fire service units. .... read more

As a part of its four-stage plan for the Mithi River water quality improvement project, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has decided to intercept sewage flow into the river —at Mahim Causeway and Prem Nagar outfall—and channel it into the municipal sewer system, and take up extensive improvement and beautification of the river. .... read more

More than five billion of the estimated 16 billion mobile phones possessed worldwide will likely be discarded or stashed away in 2022, experts said recently, calling for more recycling of the often hazardous materials they contain. .... read more

A marine biologist, Claire Arre’s project aims to combat climate change using nature instead of human-engineered construction, and it is one of many across the nation’s 254 coastal counties that is eligible for billions in federal funding from the Inflation Reduction Act, the sprawling climate, health care and tax bill signed recently by the US President Joe Biden.

East Mediterranean and Middle East region could see an overall warming of up to 5°C or more by the end of the century on a business-as-usual scenario, a report prepared by the Cyprus Institute said. That temperature spike was almost twice that anticipated in other areas of the planet, and faster than any other inhabited parts of the world, it said.

Australia listed a small wallaby and the grey snake among 15 new threatened species recently as it launched a zero-extinction plan for its unique wildlife. Many of Australia’s species are clinging to existence, their habitats shrinking from human activity and extreme events such as the 2019–2020 Black Summer bushfires, wildlife groups say.

New Zealand’s conservation office has said all 240 pilot whales stranded on the remote Pitt Island have died, just days after 215 whales died on a beach on nearby Chatham Island. Dave Lundquist, marine technical advisor at the Department of Conservation, in an email said a technical team had assessed the situation and euthanized the surviving whales.

New Zealand’s Wellington Zoo has more than doubled its population of endangered ring-tailed lemurs after its four females gave birth to twins. Ring-tailed lemurs, endemic to Madagascar, are on the endangered list.