The “Strategy paper on Coal Import Substitution” has been prepared as a report of the IMC (Inter-Ministerial Committee). The paper focusses on the present energy mix of the country, domestic coal production, trends and projections, import trends (sector-wise), coal import substitution measures already taken by the Government and most importantly, …
the Supreme Court of Nepal has once again come to the rescue of people campaigning for clean air. It has asked the government to explain its decision to allow Indian polluting vehicles into the country that violates Nepal's emission standards. The petition, filed by Pro-Public, a Kathmandu-based non-governmental organisation, questioned …
Thailand's Food and Drug Administration (fda) has imposed a ban on the imports of beef from several European nations, including Portugal, France, Ireland, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Germany to prevent the spread of the mad cow disease. The ban, however, does not include dairy products that are certified to be …
in what is termed as environmental racism, a consignment of 118 tonnes of used neuro-toxic mercury from the us is on its way to an undisclosed location in India. It is reported that a portion of the mercury has reached a purification centre in Albany, New York, from where it …
Bhutan is now realising the implications of imported crop diseases. "Importing a plant without proper quarantine can lead to the spread of a new plant disease damaging a lot of our crops,' said N K Pradhan of the Plant Protection Centre. Many in the country are unaware about Bhutan's Quarantine …
Due to a tremendous increase in the number of ecofriendly vehicles running on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) in Kathmandu, Nepal, there has been a severe shortage of cooking gas. Some 700 three-wheelers and 300 micro-buses running on LPG were imported to solve the air pollution problem in the capital. However, …
the Union government is considering banning import of edible oils made from genetically modified (GM) soyabean and other seeds, said Union agriculture minister Nitish Kumar. He said that this measure will help in curbing dumping by some countries, which has adversely affected the Indian farmers. These countries resort to dumping …
for the past two decades, urban agriculture has been on the rise throughout the world, in both poor and wealthy nations. Millions of urban residents in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and increasingly in North America, are growing crops and raising livestock in yards, on rooftops and balconies, along roadsides, and …
it's November. Time for Gloriosa superba popularly known as glory lily to bloom. A few hours drive from the temple town Madurai in Tamil Nadu, it has indeed blossomed and covered hundred of hectares of land with its red flowers. It does make a pretty sight. But under the red …
According to the World Conservation Union's listing, the bird is safe and secure. But it appears in India's Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, as a Schedule IV species
Breast meat is a delicacy in USA. So much so that a company called Avigenics has decided to genetically modify chicken into one that can give the country's citizens more breast meat per palate and plate. Or to derive some medical benefit for the pharmaceutical industry. That's not all. It …
The first step for the development of a poultry industry in India was taken in 1860 with the founding of the Indian Poultry Club in Lucknow by some British officers. Then in early 20th century foreign missionaries began to import foreign or exotic breeds. One of the first breeds to …
There was a time when a banquet in Jhabua district of Madhya Pradesh was considered incomplete without kalamansi to eat. Kala or black and masni or meat, literally means bird with black meat. Kadaknath (strong), as the fowl is popularly known, graced every rite and ritual. It is not just …
long before the birth of Christ, a bird, never seen before in the valley of the Blue Nile, reached the court of the pharaohs. Neither the architectural grandeur of the court nor the
As the red jungle fowl started travelling across the globe, its connections to different aspects of human life also grew. It assumed the responsibility of sounding the wake-up call to humans. Because of this role, it was regarded as the Herald of Dawn and the guardian of good over evil …
The red jungle fowl (RJF) is one of the four jungle fowls found in the Indian subcontinent belonging to the genus Gallus, the other three being grey, Ceylon and green. It is also know as Gallus bankiva or Gallus gallus murghi. RJF is distinct in its appearance. It's strikingly colourful …
There are scientific theories on the monophyletic (tracing origin to one ancestor) and polyphyletic (many ancestors) origin of modern day fowls. The former goes with the theory of Charles Darwin (1868) that rjf is the sole ancestor of all the domestic chicken. He considered rjf the sole ancestor because, among …
Unfortunately, it is not just rjf that is suffering from neglect. There are 20 desi or indigenous fowl breeds in India, all of which possess unique characteristics. Aseel , meaning true or real, an aggressive bird known for its fighting abilities has now become extremely rare and is found only …
anti-dumping duties imposed on India by the European Union (eu) have been declared inconsistent with free trade rules, by the World Trade Organisation (wto). Starting from 1997, eu had imposed anti-dumping duties on imports of cotton bed linen from Egypt, Pakistan and India. "eu should formulate its trade policies in …
" before 1996, European tourists would often complain about the poor visibility of the snow-capped mountains from Kathmandu,' says Ishwar Chettri, who runs a travel agency in the Nepalese capital. But the ban on the sale of new diesel vehicles in 1996 and the subsequent blanket ban on diesel-run three-wheelers …
The international community's goal to reduce half of the world's food availability problem by 2015 will not be achieved as per schedule, according to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). "Progress towards meeting the 1996 World Food Summit's target has been so far very slow, and at the current pace …
