In 2023, the Emergency Events Database (EM-DAT) recorded a total of 399 disasters related to natural hazards. These events resulted in 86,473 fatalities and affected 93.1 million people. The economic losses amounted to US$202.7 billion. The 2023 earthquake in Türkiye and the Syrian Arab Republic was the most catastrophic event …
There is a great push to make panchayats the fulcrum of rural development in India. But 16 years after the third tier of government was created, it has not got its due. RAMESH Singh Yadav is much sought after. Especially among creditors and moneylenders, to whom he owes a total …
people from Uttaranchal's Rudraprayag district have revived 16 drying springs in their valleys with innovative research. Using the isoptope technique (see box: Nature's mystery), they tracked the origin and natural recharge zones of the streams, and accordingly, built rainwater harvesting structures to augment the discharge of springs and raise the …
TWO years after the Asian tsunami, as the images of devastation fade off from global public memory, the disaster persists for villages along the coastline of Sri Lanka's Southern Province. Survivors here have new houses, boats, fishing nets and roads, but face a severe scarcity of drinking water. Unlike flooded …
despite petrol's benzene content being lowered from 3 per cent to 1 per cent in 2000-2001, there has been no significant effect on the current ambient levels of this carcinogenic chemical. Benzene levels in air continue to be high according to two recent studies: Central Pollution Control Board's (cpcb's) Highlights …
The west Asian crisis, rising prices and global warming are pushing large oil users to rethink energy alternatives and biofuel has become the buzzword. Various options are being tried out to produce ethanol in laboratories as well as in industry The US with 5 per cent of global population and …
For the past 15 years or so, Rabindranath Das has been watching the ground slip away from beneath his feet. Back in the 1990s, his family had about 3.5 hectares (ha) of paddy fields along Ghoramara island's northwestern shores. But every year, especially during the monsoons, the Hooghly's strong undercurrents …
GUARANTEES for social services have been kicking in of late. After guarantees for rural employment and education, people will find it easier to get an anganwadi on demand. On December 13, 2006, the Supreme Court has ordered the government to set up 8 lakh more anganwadi centres in the next …
on december 14, 2006, the state environment appellate authority stayed an order of the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board directing Mumbai Port Trust (mbpt) to stop handling of coal at its Haji Bunder jetty on environmental grounds. This is the second time that the appellate authority has put a stay on …
Vindhyan region is very rich in plant biodiversity because of its variety of geology, land shapes like plateau, plane, valley and hill areas. There are variety of climate and altitudinal variations compiled with varied ecological habitants. Because of various known and unknown reasons biodiversity of the area has been declining …
A presentation on need for improvement of agricultural statistics by Vijay Kumar, Adviser, Directorate of Economics and Statistics, Department of Agriculture and Cooperation, Ministry of Agriculture.
This study on bamboo was developed by FAO and INBAR jointly in the framework of FAO’s Global Forest Resources Assessment 2005 (FRA 2005), with the aim of filling the gap in global information and providing a first, comprehensive assessment of the world’s bamboo resources.
This booklet is a quick source for national and trade statistics of WTO members and countries which are in the process of negotiating WTO membership. These trade profiles combine information on trade flows and trade policy measures of Members, Observers and other selected economies. The information is retrieved from various …
Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals has been publishing from time to time various statistical tables and data fact sheets pertaining to Chemicals and Petrochemical in non-SSI sector for easy accessibility and wider use by other departments, industry and interested users. This issue is a further step in the same direction …
Livestock production has become a major envioronmental management challenge. When its full commodity chain is included, the sector contributes to global warming, causes stress on land by grazing, increases demand for water for feed crop production and leads to water pollution by animal waste and chemicals 80 per cent of …
function map() { var popurl="image/20061231/25-map.jpg" winpops=window.open(popurl,"","width=550,height=600,scrollbars=yes") } Cripple effect Moradabad district in western Uttar Pradesh (up) holds a dubious distinction: this year it has registered the highest number of polio cases of any district in the country. When this magazine went to press, officials there were gearing up for a …
public sector banks have long been chastised as the black sheep of the financial sector. But while a lot of experts might deride these institutions for their non-performing assets and lower productivity, at the end of the day, public sector banks have far happier customers compared to their counterparts in …
In October 2006, the World Health Organisation (who) released new guidelines challenging governments around the world to improve air quality in their cities. The recommended limits of pm10, ozone and sulphur dioxide have been substantial lowered. The prescribed standards are far tougher than the those in vogue in many parts …
the European Commission (ec) will adopt Euro 6 stage of emission norms, along with the existing Euro 5 norms. It, however, trails behind leading nations in reducing nitrogen oxide (nox) emissions from diesel cars. The Euro 6, according to ec , would significantly lower nox emissions. ec has considered a …
Little headway was made at the un climate change conference held in Nairobi, Kenya, from November 6 to 17, 2006. The most important issue, mandating commitments to cutting carbon emissions, was stonewalled, with the us refusing to budge from its stated positions, as expected, and the European Union pushing for …
