Wildlife studies stuck as tweaked Act mandates Centre's nod
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Hindustan Times
01-08-2025
- Hindustan Times
Law on anvil for blue economy, government tells Lok Sabha
The Centre is taking a systematic approach towards a legislative framework for implementation of the Blue Economy policy, the ministry of earth sciences informed the Lok Sabha on Wednesday. Law on anvil for blue economy, government tells Lok Sabha The draft national policy on blue economy, covering seven thematic areas including ocean governance and marine spatial planning, was placed in the public domain in February 2021 and revised in July 2022 after inter-ministerial and stakeholder consultations, the response said adding that the policy is aiming to harness ocean resources sustainably for economic growth while protecting marine ecosystems ensuring national security and it also provides the foundational basis for future legislation, the ministry said in response to a query, raised by MP Brijmohan Agrawal, on the major legislative steps taken by the government for Blue Economy. The deep ocean mission is a subset of the broader blue economy concept which is focused on technological development for exploring deep ocean resources, promoting climate change advisory services, conservation of deep-sea biodiversity, research on ocean biology, and harnessing energy and freshwater from the ocean. 'The current focus is on strengthening the existing environmental legal framework through targeted reforms, including amendments to existing laws and empowering the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change's umbrella legislation the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. These reforms aim to introduce specific rules to address critical challenges such as e-waste (management), plastics waste management, batteries waste management, and end-of-life vehicles (ELVs) scrapping,' said Jitendra Singh, minister of state for earth sciences. He was responding to questions by BJP MP, Brijmohan Agrawal on the 1. major legislative steps taken by the Government for the Blue Economy district from policy-based approaches such as the Deep Ocean Mission along with the draft legislation; 2. inter-ministerial consultations or projected timelines for a Blue Economy Law; 3. existing mechanism which ensures sector-specific, legally binding environmental among others. The various sectors in the blue economy are governed by different laws which include: 1. Coastal and Marine Ecosystems governed by Environment (Protection) Act, 1986; Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) Notification, 2019 and Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, 2. Fisheries and Aquaculture governed by Marine Fishing Regulation Acts (State-specific); National Policy on Marine Fisheries, 2017; 3. Shipping and Ports & Security under the Merchant Shipping Act, 1958; Major Port Authorities Act, 2021; International Maritime Conventions (e.g., MARPOL) (via Merchant Shipping Act); Maritime Zones Act, 1976; Recycling of Ships Act, 2019 and Island Vessels Act, 2021, 3. Oil, Gas & Deep-Sea Mining under Oilfields (Regulation and Development) Act, 1948 and Offshore Areas Mineral (Development and Regulation) Act, 2002, 4. Tourism and Recreation under Environment (Protection) Act & CRZ Rules and Biological Diversity Act, 2002 and 5. Marine Biotechnology & Bioprospecting under Biological Diversity Act, 2002. The regulatory gaps and overlaps are being addressed through the PARIVESH portal of Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change which acts as a single window for environmental, forest, wildlife, and coastal regulation zone clearances and the National Sagarmala Apex Committee and PM Gatishakti portal also aid in integrated planning, Singh said. Further, there are dedicated laws and guidelines for investment, accountability, and liability including 100% FDI is permitted via the automatic route in sectors like sea-ports and aquaculture. Offshore mineral block auctions are open to foreign bidders with specified conditions. The Merchant Shipping Act, 1958, adopts international liability conventions and mandates compulsory insurance for pollution damage. Offshore safety is governed by the Oil Mines Regulations, 2017, and a draft Offshore Safety Directive. The 'Harit Sagar' Green Port Guidelines (2023) mandate ESG reporting for terminal operators. The Deep Ocean Mission requires Environmental and Social Due Diligence for its projects. Maritime Zones Act, 1976 along with updated rules like the Offshore Wind Energy Lease Rules, 2023, provides the legal framework for leasing and regulating offshore energy and mineral projects, the response said.
Hindustan Times
31-07-2025
- Hindustan Times
Centre developing legislative framework for blue economy: Govt in Lok Sabha
The central government is taking a systematic approach towards a legislative framework for implementation of the Blue Economy policy, the ministry of earth sciences informed the Lok Sabha on Wednesday. The draft national policy on blue economy was placed in the public domain in February 2021. (PTI photo) The draft national policy on blue economy, covering seven thematic areas including ocean governance and marine spatial planning, was placed in the public domain in February 2021 and revised in July 2022 after inter-ministerial and stakeholder consultations, the response said adding that the policy is aiming to harness ocean resources sustainably for economic growth while protecting marine ecosystems ensuring national security and it also provides the foundational basis for future legislation, the response said. The deep ocean mission is a subset of the broader blue economy concept which is focused on technological development for exploring deep ocean resources, promoting climate change advisory services, conservation of deep-sea biodiversity, research on ocean biology, and harnessing energy and freshwater from the ocean. Also Read:'Samudrayaan': India's first manned deep ocean mission to be launched by 2026 end 'The current focus is on strengthening the existing environmental legal framework through targeted reforms, including amendments to existing laws and empowering the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change's umbrella legislation the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. These reforms aim to introduce specific rules to address critical challenges such as e-waste (management), plastics waste management, batteries waste management, and end-of-life vehicles (ELVs) scrapping,' said Jitendra Singh, minister of state (MoS) for earth sciences. He was responding to questions by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP, Brijmohan Agrawal on three questions. Agrawal asked about the major legislative steps taken by the government for the Blue Economy district from policy-based approaches such as the Deep Ocean Mission along with the draft legislation; Secondly, he asked about the inter-ministerial consultations or projected timelines for a Blue Economy Law; and lastly, he asked about the existing mechanism which ensures sector-specific, legally binding environmental among others. Responding to the questions, Singh said that the various sectors in the blue economy are governed by different laws. Singh added that the regulatory gaps and overlaps are being addressed through the PARIVESH portal of Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change which acts as a single window for environmental, forest, wildlife, and coastal regulation zone clearances and the National Sagarmala Apex Committee and PM Gatishakti portal also aid in integrated planning. 'There are dedicated laws and guidelines for investment, accountability, and liability including 100% FDI is permitted via the automatic route in sectors like sea-ports and aquaculture. Offshore mineral block auctions are open to foreign bidders with specified conditions. The Merchant Shipping Act, 1958, adopts international liability conventions and mandates compulsory insurance for pollution damage. Offshore safety is governed by the Oil Mines Regulations, 2017, and a draft Offshore Safety Directive', the MoS said. 'The 'Harit Sagar' Green Port Guidelines (2023) mandate ESG reporting for terminal operators. The Deep Ocean Mission requires Environmental and Social Due Diligence for its projects. Maritime Zones Act, 1976 along with updated rules like the Offshore Wind Energy Lease Rules, 2023, provides the legal framework for leasing and regulating offshore energy and mineral projects,' the response said.
New Indian Express
27-07-2025
- New Indian Express
Chhattisgarh's wild buffalo clone, claimed to be 'first-ever' 11 years back, embroils in scepticism
RAIPUR: The Chhattisgarh forest department made headlines 11 years ago, claiming to have produced the first-ever clone of the wild buffalo, named 'DeepAsha' and is currently embroiled in scepticism. The project was executed by the National Dairy Research Institute (NDRI), Karnal, which claimed to have cloned the wild buffalo for the first time in the country through the 'Hand-guided Cloning Technique' at ICAR-NDRI in December 2014. The clone appears like a Murrah buffalo (domestic) breed, and notably the Wild buffalo is listed under Schedule 1 of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act. Amid the demand by wildlife enthusiasts of DeepAsha's DNA report, the state forest department decided to raise a query to the Hyderabad-based Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) asking, 'Is it technically possible to create xerox copy of wild buffalo in a cloning method where ovaries (that produces oocyte/egg cells) for cloning is sourced from slaughter house?' The response given to the department by CCMB in March this year that it was 'not possible', was acquired under the Right to Information.
