Environment

Organic farming is an agricultural system that works in harmony with nature. It largely excludes the use of synthetic inputs (such as fertilizers, pesticides, hormones, feed additives etc.) and rely upon crop rotation, crop residues, animal manures, off-farm organic waste, mineral grade rock additives and biological system of nutrient mobilization and plant protection. Organic farming … Read more

Ramsar sites are created under Ramsar convention. It was signed in 1971 in the Iranian city of Ramsar and is one of the oldest inter-governmental accord for preserving the ecological character of wetlands. It is also known as the Convention on Wetlands.Its aim is to develop and maintain an international network of wetlands which are important for the conservation of global biological diversity and … Read more

. Due to its low capital cost, groundwater is the most preferred source of water in India. According to an  estimate, groundwater accounts for nearly 80 per cent of the rural domestic water needs, and 50 per  cent of the urban water needs in India.   However, a variety of land and water- based human activities … Read more

Major findings are as follows: Area-wise Madhya Pradesh has the largest forest cover in the country followed by Arunachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Maharashtra. In terms of forest cover as percentage of total geographical area, the top five States are Mizoram (85.41%), Arunachal Pradesh (79.63%), Meghalaya (76.33%), Manipur (75.46%) and Nagaland (75.31%). Total mangrove cover … Read more

It is a Central Sector Scheme and is being implemented with the objective: To provide clean cooking fuel for kitchens, lighting and meeting other thermal and small power needs of farmers/dairy farmers /users including individual households and to improve organic manure system (not eliminate chemical fertilizer) based on bio-slurry from biogas plants in rural and … Read more

Coral bleaching happens when corals lose their vibrant colors and turn white. Corals are bright and colorful because of microscopic algae called zooxanthellae. The zooxanthellae live within the coral in a mutually beneficial relationship, each helping the other survive. But when the ocean environment changes—if it gets too hot, for instance—the coral stresses out and … Read more

Forest fires are a regular phenomenon in our country often observed during the fire season. A number of 37,059 fires were detected in year 2018 using MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectro-radiometer) sensor data. Every year large areas of forests are affected by fires of varying intensity and extent. Based on the forest inventory records, 54.40% … Read more

The Global Environment Facility (GEF) was established on the eve of the 1992 Rio Earth Summit to help tackle our planet’s most pressing environmental problems. Since then, the GEF has provided close to $20.5 billion in grants and mobilized an additional $112 billion in co-financing for more than 4,800 projects in 170 countries.                The GEF provides funding to assist developing countries in … Read more

Dead zones are hypoxic (low-oxygen) areas in the world’s oceans and large lakes. They are caused by “excessive nutrient pollution from human activities coupled with other factors that deplete the oxygen required to support most marine life in bottom and near-bottom water. Historically, many of these sites were naturally occurring. However, in the 1970s, oceanographers … Read more

The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has launched the Angikaar Campaign. The campaign was officially rolled out in all cities with PMAY (U) on October 2, 2019. It has been launched for social behaviour change, focusing on issues such as water & energy conservation, waste management, health, tree plantation, sanitation and hygiene. The campaign … Read more