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Business Standard
2 days ago
- Business
- Business Standard
Best of BS Opinion: Economic shifts, environmental hopes, policy crossroads
Here are the best of Business Standard's opinion pieces for today Abhijeet Kumar New Delhi In a significant move to stimulate economic growth, the Reserve Bank of India's Monetary Policy Committee reduced the policy repo rate by 50 basis points to 5.5 per cent and the cash reserve ratio by 100 basis points in phased stages, injecting ₹2.5 trillion into the banking system. While inflation eased to 3.2 per cent in April, the MPC shifted its stance from 'accommodative' to 'neutral,' indicating limited room for future rate cuts. The GDP forecast remains at 6.5 per cent, but the RBI stressed that achieving higher long-term growth would require structural reforms beyond monetary tools. Launched on World Environment Day, the Aravalli Green Wall Project aims to restore 700 km of degraded terrain across four states. Inspired by Africa's Great Green Wall, the plan involves reviving native flora and water bodies to enhance India's carbon sink. However, challenges remain due to ongoing illegal mining and encroachments. As our second editorial highlights, without stronger governance and interstate coordination, experts warn the project could falter, repeating past mistakes seen in the Western Ghats conservation efforts. In his column, Ajay Shah writes that India's economic prospects depend not just on rate cuts but on five strategic levers: trade liberalisation, soft monetary policy, structural reform, capital account liberalisation, and a weaker rupee. He notes that weak private investment and capital controls have stifled India's global competitiveness. While India benefits from geopolitical realignments like the China+1 shift, FDI inflows remain low. Trade deals with the UK and potential pacts with the US and EU offer an opportunity, but without bold reform, India risks falling short. Meanwhile, Sunita Narain cautions that India's EV transition is progressing too slowly to meet its climate and urban mobility goals. While electric three-wheelers show growth, adoption in other segments lags, and urban congestion worsens. She stresses that counting electric vehicles is not enough, cities must expand public transport, reduce private vehicle use, and align EV policy with air quality and mobility planning. Finally, Ted Widmer reviews John Hancock: First to Sign, First to Invest in America's Independence by Willard Sterne Randall, a biography that revives the legacy of the often-overlooked Founding Father. The book underscores Hancock's role in financing and steering the revolution, while also exploring the complexities surrounding his political and social legacy. Stay tuned!
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Business Standard
2 days ago
- General
- Business Standard
Saving the Aravallis: Political and bureaucratic buy-in is critical
It is worth noting that the bulk of the degradation of the Aravallis is the result of plain illegal activities, costing state governments crores of rupees in revenue Business Standard Editorial Comment Mumbai Listen to This Article Given the scale of destruction of the Aravallis, one of India's oldest mountain ranges, the launch of the Aravalli Green Wall project on June 5, World Environment Day, has not come a day too soon. Inspired by Africa's Great Green Wall project to regreen the Sahel, the Indian version aims to reforest 700 km of the range in 29 districts in Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, and Gujarat. The broad plan is to supplant destructive alien species with native species on scrubland, wasteland and degraded forest and restore water bodies to create an additional 2.5 billion tonnes of carbon sink, as India
NDTV
6 days ago
- Health
- NDTV
Can Ambitious Green Wall Project Save The Aravallis? What Expert Said
New Delhi: The Aravalli range, made up of India's oldest fold mountains, is bleeding. Stretching 692 km from Delhi to Gujarat, this range stands as a vital shield, holding back the Thar Desert, guiding monsoon winds, and cradling over 300 plant and 120 bird species in its vibrant ecosystem. But relentless deforestation, illegal mining, and creeping desertification are ripping apart its ecological core, threatening rivers, biodiversity, and millions of livelihoods. Tomorrow, on World Environment Day 2025, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will plant the first saplings of the Aravalli Green Wall Project in Delhi's Ridge, launching a 1,400 km-long green belt to heal this ancient guardian. NDTV spoke to Anumita Roychowdhury, Executive Director of Research and Advocacy at the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), to explore whether this ambitious vision can triumph over the Aravallis' mounting crises. The Aravallis' Wounds The range's green cloak is tattered. Forest cover fell 0.9% from 1999-2019, with the central range losing a staggering 32% since 1975 to urban sprawl and mining. Illegal mining has obliterated 25% of Rajasthan's Aravalli hills since 1967-68, despite Supreme Court bans in 2002 and 2009. Of 4,150 mining leases for copper, zinc, and marble, only 288 have environmental clearance. Desertification also looms: 8.2% of Haryana's land turned arid by 2018-19, and 8% of the Aravallis-5,772.7 sq km-was lost by 2019, with 22% more at risk by 2059. These assaults have dried rivers like the Sahibi and Luni, eroded soils, depleted groundwater, and slashed biodiversity, undermining the region's climate resilience. A Green Wall of Hope The Aravalli Green Wall Project, launching June 5, 2025, aims to weave a 1,400 km-long, 5 km-wide green belt, inspired by Africa's Great Green Wall. Starting with 24,990 hectares in Haryana's Gurgaon, Faridabad, Nuh, Rewari, and Mahendergarh, it will plant native species, revive 75 water bodies, and bolster soil conservation, targeting 1.1 million hectares by 2027. "The Aravalli Green Wall Project is a very critical step forward. Since our childhood, we have seen massive degradation of the Aravallis. This project will restore confidence that we can protect, conserve, and expand this essential resource." Aligned with India's UNCCD (United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification), CBD (Convention on Biological Diversity), and UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) commitments, it promises to curb desertification, boost biodiversity, and create jobs while cooling the region and filtering dust that fuels Delhi-NCR's air pollution crisis," said Ms Roychowdhury. "The wall will act as a wind and dust barrier," Ms Roychowdhury explained, "consistent with global best practices for green walls, addressing the intersection of clean air challenges and climate change," she added. Eco-Tourism: Opportunity or Threat? The project's eco-tourism push-safaris, nature parks, and trekking routes-aims to fund restoration and engage local communities. But could increased human activity harm this fragile ecosystem? "The Aravallis are a fragile ecosystem," Ms Roychowdhury warned. "Tourism can't take over or disrupt the local ecological balance. We have to be respectful and sensitive to the communities and species that depend on this region." She stressed that unregulated tourism risks habitat disruption, pollution, and wildlife displacement. To counter this, CSE recommends robust safeguards: "We advocate for strict regulatory frameworks-limiting visitor numbers, enforcing waste management protocols, and ensuring low-impact, non-invasive infrastructure. Species introduced for reforestation must be native to avoid ecological imbalances," she said. On the risk of over-commercialisation, Ms Roychowdhury is clear: "The Aravallis are a buffer between Delhi, Haryana, and expanding urban areas. Unregulated development, like stone quarrying or encroachments, must stop for the green wall to succeed. Community involvement is essential, but it must prioritise ecological restoration over commercial interests." She emphasises enforcement and scale: "The clean air agenda cannot succeed on a small scale. We need speed of implementation, but it must integrate local needs without allowing tourism to dominate. Conservation must always come first," she said. As PM Modi plants saplings tomorrow, the Aravalli Green Wall signals a fierce resolve to heal this ancient range. But, as Ms Roychowdhury underscored, "The green wall will work only if we stop urban pressures. It's a matter of enforcement and implementation."
Time of India
7 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
In 1st phase of Aravali Green Wall project, Haryana to revive forest cover on 24.9k hectares
Gurgaon: Haryana will restore 24,990 hectares of degraded Aravali land in the first phase of the ambitious Green Wall project, which aims to develop a continuous line of forests from Porbandar in Gujarat to Rajghat in Delhi, spanning the length of the ancient hill ranges. The state's restoration plan will be carried out in recorded forest areas (RFA) of five districts – Gurgaon, Faridabad, Nuh, Rewari and Mahendergarh – over three years. Charkhi Dadri, the sixth Haryana district where the Aravalis lie, is not part of this phase because most of the forest is intact there. Haryana's principal chief conservator of forests (PCCF) Vineet Kumar Garg told TOI on Tuesday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will officially launch the green wall project on June 5, which is observed as the world environment day. "We will start work in Haryana the same day," Garg said. Forest department officials said they used GIS (geographical information system) mapping to identify RFA – totaling 33,706 hectares – across the five districts. Of this, 24,990 hectares were found to be degraded. Over half of the degraded land has low tree cover, around a quarter that has no forest cover at all, and 15% of it is scrubland, they said. "Around 76% of this land has a deep soil profile, making it suitable for long-term ecological rehabilitation. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Trading CFD dengan Teknologi dan Kecepatan Lebih Baik IC Markets Mendaftar Undo Restoration will begin with soil and water conservation, followed by planting of 15-20 native species of vegetation per site, tailored to soil depth and local conditions," read a govt document titled 'Detailed Action plan Aravali Landscape Restoration (Aravali Green Wall)'. The Aravali Green Wall project, announced by the central govt in 2023, borrows its conception from Africa's Great Green Wall initiative, under which an 8,000km "wall" of forests was restored across the continent. Similarly, the idea is to revive 1.1 million hectares of the hills – the only barrier that blocks the expansion of Thar desert towards northwest India – by 2027. The range extends from Gujarat, crosses Rajasthan and Haryana, before levelling off in Delhi. Almost 40% of the Aravalis are in Haryana's six districts, making the state's role particularly crucial for the green wall project to succeed. The action plan also laid out district-wise targets for reviving Aravali land. The largest chunk of degraded forest to be restored is in Nuh (9,839 hectares), followed by Gurgaon (6,063.7 hectares), Faridabad (3,852.7 hectares), Rewari (3,087.9 hectares) and Mahendergarh (2,146.2 hectares). On the ground, work will involve plantation drives, development of check dams and percolation ponds, and restoration of grasslands, among other measures. On Tuesday, activists said the state must also ensure that the Aravalis are legally protected as forests. "What we need is strong legal cover to shield the Aravalis from the twin threats of illegal mining and rampant tree felling. Without it, this ancient range will continue to be chipped away — stone by stone, tree by tree," said Vivek Kamboj, an environmentalist.
Bloomberg
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Bloomberg
China's Green Push Created More Hay Fever Allergies
By Hi, it's Karoline in Singapore. China is proud of its forestation campaign, but people are wondering whether the government could have picked better plants. More on that in a moment, but first … China's move to contain its northern deserts with a Great Green Wall has resulted in more than 30 million hectares of forest planted in 40 years.
