Sustainability Outlook Headlines

Karnataka to set up agriculture price commission

The agriculture price commission, which proposes to evolve a balanced and integrated price structure for agricultural and horticultural commodities for producers as well as consumers, would be established by next January end. 

If created, the commission would also help establishing a well-organized marketing system for handling agricultural commodities and create adequate market infrastructure to undertake storage, transportation and processing efficiently. The commission would suggest to the government to take suitable measures as and when the prices of agricultural produces fall... Read more..

Microfinance associations to get regulator status

 The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has decided to grant self-regulatory status to associations in the microfinance industry.

These self-regulatory organisations (SROs) will assist the RBI to regulate and monitor microfinance institutions (MFIs, which engage in micro-lending) that have registered themselves as non-banking finance companies (NBFCs).

Currently, there are only two MFI associations: the Micro Finance Institutions Network (MFIN) and Sa-Dhan.

Alok Prasad, CEO of MFIN, said that it will apply for the SRO status by next month. “It is about converting from de... Read more..

Maharashtra farmers get climate smart with hi-tech weather alerts

Farmers in Maharashtra are getting climate smart! Thanks to advanced technology they are now empowered to adapt to extreme climatic changes and accordingly plan their agricultural activities.

Twice a week these farmers receive text messages or can read on wall displays, weather variance information that is specific to their crop and geographical location - courtesy 51 automated weather stations scattered across villages of the state's Akole and Sangamner blocks in Ahmednagar district.

This... Read more..

IEEE Okays Communication Standard For Smart-Grid Applications

IEEE has announced that it has approved the IEEE 1901.2 “Standard for Low-Frequency (less than 500 kHz) Narrowband Power-Line Communications for Smart-Grid Applications.” The achievement has been driven and is sponsored by the Power-Line Communications Standards Committee of the IEEE Communications Society (ComSoc).

“The IEEE 1901.2 standard raises the bar of performance with mandatory differential and robust coherent modulation, with added enhancements for increased data rates greater than 300 kbps,” said Jim LeClare, Chair of the... Read more..

Mytrah Energy may list business trust on Singapore Exchange

 Independent power producer Mytrah Energy is seeking to raise $400 million to $600 million (Rs 2,500 crore to Rs 3,750 crore) by hiving off its Indian operational assets into a business trust and listing it on the Singapore stock exchange.

The UK-based company hopes to have assets that generate about 600 megawatt of wind power at the time of listing in the next three-four months, said a person with direct knowledge of the development on condition of anonymity.

If successful, Mytrah Energy will become the third India-focused company to raise equity through the business trust... Read more..

Increasing cropping frequency offers opportunity to boost food supply

Harvesting existing cropland more frequently could substantially increase global food production without clearing more land for agriculture, according to a new study from the Institute on the Environment (IonE) at the University of Minnesota.

The study, published in Environmental Research Letters, tracked global harvest trends of 177 crops between 1961 and 2011. It found that the total amount of land harvested increased four times faster than the total amount of cropland between 2000 and 2011, suggesting that harvest frequency was... Read more..

Coal on barges marks a milestone in India's inland water trade

 The maiden effort in the country to transport coal via waterways has just started. 

NTPC, India’s largest power producer, would start moving coal on barges from the mouth of the Hooghly river at the Bay of Bengal to Farakka power station in West Bengal from today, Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) assistant director Arvind Kumar told dna. 

The trial run of shipment through the mode under which 3 million tonne of coal would be transported via waterway took place last week.

The project mooted five years ago would be run by IWAI on behalf of NTPC. 

The... Read more..

Government proposes 15,000-km green energy highway, gas grid to connect consumers in Asia with producers

 India is keen to build a 15,000-km gas grid across Asia to connect producers such as Iran, Myanmar, Bangladesh and central Asian nations with big consumers including itself, China and Pakistan, government officials said. 

Bhutan's taxis, govt cars set to make way for electric vehicles

Bhutan has drawn up ambitious plans to replace its taxis and government vehicles with electric cars in a bid to make the national capital Thimpu an electric vehicles hotspot and emerge as a global centre for development of green technology.

It will replace the 2,500 taxis in Thimphu with electric cars and also phase out fuel-powered government vehicles used by senior cabinet ministers and officials.

The government has held talks with Japanese car maker Nissan and leading United States electric... Read more..

India rejects US, EU moves to limit powerful greenhouse gases used in fridges

India opposed using the Montreal Protocol ozone-protection treaty to restrict powerful greenhouse gases called hydrofluorocarbons, pouring cold water on efforts by the U.S. and the European Union.

“It's honestly beyond me how a non-ozone depleting substance like HFCs can be taken into the Montreal Protocol, which deals only with ozone-depleting substances,” Indian Environment Minister Jayanthi Natarajan told envoys at United Nations climate talks in Warsaw today. “We are unable to fathom what prevents addressing this issue” under... Read more..

Fishes die in Meghalaya river, probe initiated

Several thousand fishes have died in a river near the Indo-Bangladesh border in Meghalaya's East Jaintia Hills district since last Saturday following which a probe has been initiated, officials said Thursday.

Dead fishes were first found floating by local anglers on November 16 morning in the Lukha river, which flows into Bangladesh, about 130 km east of here. 

Villagers reported discolouration of the waters from the confluence of Lunar and Lukha rivers, which was believed to be caused by acidic content and was the reason behind the death of fishes, S Lamare, Sunapyrdi... Read more..

US fears climate talks will focus on compensation for extreme weather

US officials fear that international climate change talks will become focused on payouts for damage caused by extreme weather events exacerbated by global warming, such as the category 5 Typhoon Haiyan that hit the Philippines last week killing thousands of people and causing what is expected to be billions of pounds of damage.

An official US briefing document obtained by the Guardian reveals that the country is worried the UN negotiations, currently under way in Warsaw, will "focus increasingly on blame and liability" and poor... Read more..