If you know that a sector has arrived when it makes for trade wars between countries, then solar energy clearly has.

The public hearing for the first phase of Ultratech's proposed cement plant in Tamil Nadu on Thursday appeared to be a stage-managed event. Officials and police at the event did not allow a volunteer from Delhi-based non-profit Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), Senthil, to film the proceedings. He was detained at the venue and his cassette was snatched away.

Read More: http://www.downtoearth.org.in/content/cse-volunteer-barred-filming-publi...

A large part of Maharashtra has been declared drought-hit. But distribution of water is quite incongruous. While the few who are politically and financially powerful take the lion’s share for sugarcane crops, thermal plants and other industries, the rest are struggling to survive.

Read More: http://www.downtoearth.org.in/content/drought-equity

Says project needs to be reassessed in view of conflicting reports of experts

After a lull for nearly a year, Nirma's cement plant in Gujarat's Bhavnagar district, is back in the spotlight. The National Green Tribunal has decided to re-evaluate the project by sending expert members for site inspection. On February 8, the tribunal bench headed by Justice Swatanter Kumar, observed there is little doubt that the project will adversely affect the environment.

Stand taken by environment ministry in Supreme Court affidavit gives opponents chance to press for mining in Niyamgiri hills

The US has challenged India's solar energy policy before the World Trade Organisation (WTO), saying it favours domestic sourcing of solar panels. The challenge, filed on February 6, says the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) flouts global trade norms.

There is something that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has in common with US diplomats—or at least the intellectual property (IP) attachés posted at various diplomatic missions: a dislike of NGOs. Both, the leader of the world’s most populous democracy and the diplomats of the most powerful democracy, make no bones about the fact that they find NGOs a stumbling block in implementing their various agendas.

Read More: http://www.downtoearth.org.in/content/menacing-us-diplomacy

Off-grid biomass plants light up villages; experts demand clarity on tariff regulation