Latest news with #NikhilGhanekar
Indian Express
3 days ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
Revision of creamy layer income limit ‘need of the hour': House panel
The Parliamentary committee on welfare of Other Backward Classes has reiterated in its latest report, which was tabled in the House Friday, the recommendation to revise the creamy layer income ceiling, calling it the 'need of the hour'. The committee had made this recommendation first in a report in April this year. In its action taken report tabled on Friday, even as the committee reiterated its recommendation, the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (MoSJE) said in its response that 'at present there is no proposal under consideration for further revision of the OBC creamy layer income limit'. Noting the Centre's response, the committee stated that the present threshold of Rs 8 lakh was 'insufficient', given the 'increase in basic income of individuals of even lower income groups and the increasing trend of the inflation index.' It went on to reiterate in 'no uncertain words' its recommendation for revising the present creamy layer threshold, to cover more persons from the OBCs as 'this would eventually help in raising their socio-economic condition to a satisfactory level'. In the last revision in 2017, the income limit for OBCs to avail reservations was raised from Rs 6.5 lakh per annum to Rs 8 lakh per annum. As per Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) norms, the income limit for determining creamy layer for OBCs is to be raised every three years or even before the stipulated period, according to a September 1993 order. In its April report, the committee had noted that the existing income limit of Rs 8 lakh for determining the creamy layer among OBCs was low, and covered only a small segment. 'Due to this, a large segment of OBC population, which is otherwise in need of support from the State through various welfare schemes to raise its social and educational status in the society, is being deprived from the benefits of reservation policy,' it had said. The committee's report also noted the government's response that the pre-matric scholarship scheme was due for review and revision in the next financial cycle, from 2026-27 to 2030-31, and even the revision of parental income limit is under discussion. In its April report, the committee had recommended to the Centre that pre-matric scholarship should begin from Class 5 onwards and that the current eligibility limit of parental income be raised from Rs 2.5 lakh per annum to Rs 5 lakh per annum to cover more OBC students. An award-winning journalist with 14 years of experience, Nikhil Ghanekar is an Assistant Editor with the National Bureau [Government] of The Indian Express in New Delhi. He primarily covers environmental policy matters which involve tracking key decisions and inner workings of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. He also covers the functioning of the National Green Tribunal and writes on the impact of environmental policies on wildlife conservation, forestry issues and climate change. Nikhil joined The Indian Express in 2024. Originally from Mumbai, he has worked in publications such as Tehelka, Hindustan Times, DNA Newspaper, News18 and Indiaspend. In the past 14 years, he has written on a range of subjects such as sports, current affairs, civic issues, city centric environment news, central government policies and politics. ... Read More
Indian Express
6 days ago
- Business
- Indian Express
Geneva meet: Talks on Global Plastics Treaty resume today
STARTING TUESDAY, over 190 countries will get into a huddle in Geneva, Switzerland, to break an impasse and reach an agreement over the next fortnight on the first-ever Global Plastics Treaty that will create a legally binding framework to end plastic pollution, including in the marine environment. This will be the second installment of the fifth meeting of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5) of the UN. Countries will push to address plastic pollution right from the production stage, which uses polluting oil and gas, to the challenges of plastic waste disposal and recycling. Negotiators will pick up from the previous meeting in Busan, South Korea, last December, where talks had collapsed over critical and unresolved issues. These issues and disagreements were over the draft treaty's provisions on putting a cap on production of polymers, elimination of harmful chemicals from plastic production and phasing out of harmful plastic products. As per the Centre for International Environmental Law, a US-based non-profit, the current draft text issued during Busan contains 370 brackets, which indicate areas of no agreement between countries. It was in 2022 in Nairobi that a resolution was adopted at the United Nations Environment Assembly to develop global rules to end plastic pollution. If successfully adopted, the treaty would be the most consequential one on environmental issues since the 2015 Paris climate agreement. The exponential growth in plastic production is one of the key drivers of plastic pollution. Globally, annual production has doubled, soaring from 234 million tonnes in 2000 to 460 million tonnes in 2019, while plastic waste has more than doubled from 156 Mt in 2000 to 353 Mt in 2019, as per a report of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Production is likely to triple in a business-as-usual scenario by 2060, as per the UN EP. The talks on the global treaty will resume in the backdrop of a new Lancet report which said that 'plastics cause disease and death from infancy to old age and are responsible for health-related economic losses exceeding $1.5 trillion annually'. Civil society and environmental campaigners have termed the negotiations a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to end plastic pollution and have called on countries to ensure significant cuts in plastic production. An award-winning journalist with 14 years of experience, Nikhil Ghanekar is an Assistant Editor with the National Bureau [Government] of The Indian Express in New Delhi. He primarily covers environmental policy matters which involve tracking key decisions and inner workings of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. He also covers the functioning of the National Green Tribunal and writes on the impact of environmental policies on wildlife conservation, forestry issues and climate change. Nikhil joined The Indian Express in 2024. Originally from Mumbai, he has worked in publications such as Tehelka, Hindustan Times, DNA Newspaper, News18 and Indiaspend. In the past 14 years, he has written on a range of subjects such as sports, current affairs, civic issues, city centric environment news, central government policies and politics. ... Read More
Indian Express
01-08-2025
- Business
- Indian Express
NISAR satellite, the Great India Bustard, and Trump's 25% tariff
Firstly, we talk to the Indian Express' Amitabh Sinha about ISRO and NASA successfully launching a joint Earth observation satellite called NISAR. Next, The Indian Express' Nikhil Ghanekar talks about the Supreme Court-appointed committee on the Great Indian Bustard that has submitted its recommendations, aiming to reconcile India's green energy push with the urgent need to protect this critically endangered bird. (16:28) And finally, just as India celebrated its trade deal with the UK, a new challenge has emerged across the Atlantic. US President Donald Trump has announced a 25% tariff on Indian goods, citing India's high import duties and its growing ties with Russia. (26:16) Hosted by Ichha Sharma Produced and written by Shashank Bhargava Edited and mixed by Suresh Pawar
Indian Express
16-07-2025
- Health
- Indian Express
High summer-time ozone levels in megacities a cause for concern: CSE study
Ozone levels in all megacities of the country have been high during the summer of 2025, with Bengaluru and Mumbai recording levels above prescribed standards for over a third of summer days, said a new Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) analysis. The new assessment used data from 80 continuous ambient air quality monitoring stations across Mumbai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Chennai, and Hyderabad. When the CSE analysed Delhi's ozone (O3) levels last month, they were found to have exceeded the prescribed standard on each summer day between March 1 and May 31. Ozone levels in Bengaluru exceeded prescribed limits 45 out of the 92-day summer days monitored by the CSE, which was a 29 per cent increase compared to last summer, the new analysis said. In Chennai, ozone levels exceeded prescribed levels for 15 out of 92 days, in comparison to no exceedance days for the corresponding period last year. Mumbai recorded ozone exceedance on 32 out of 92 days, marking a 42 per cent decline compared to the corresponding period last year. In Kolkata, about 22 out of 92 days this summer registered an exceedance of ozone standards, which was an improvement over last year by 45 percent. Due to its reactive nature, O3 levels are monitored in an eight-hour average period, instead of 24-hour averages, unlike other pollutants. The prescribed ozone standard for an eight-hour period is 100 micrograms/cubic metre as per the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQ). Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director, CSE, said, 'If unchecked, this can become a serious public health crisis as ozone is a highly reactive gas and can be harmful even with short-duration exposures. In contrast to cities in north India, where high summer temperatures and intense solar radiation can lead to ozone levels exceeding the standards, other cities in warm climates are experiencing consistent ozone exceedance during other seasons as well.' 'Ground-level ozone is beginning to emerge as a pollutant of concern with cities experiencing days exceeding the 8-hour standards. While the level of exceedance is expected to be higher during the summer months with strong sun-shine days and heat, this is emerging as a round-the-year problem in the warmer climate. Clean air action plans for cities and the states need to address this multi-pollutant challenge urgently,' CSE recommended in its analysis. Ozone is not a primary, but a secondary pollutant formed through chemical reactions between other pollutants under sunlight. Hence, summer months see a spike in ozone concentrations. These chemicals include nitrogen oxides (Nox), volatile organic compounds, and carbon monoxide (CO), pollutants emitted from vehicle tailpipes, power plants, factories, the CSE analysis stated. Ground-level ozone can affect the airways and lungs adversely, increase susceptibility to infections, worsen respiratory ailments, and decrease lung function. An award-winning journalist with 14 years of experience, Nikhil Ghanekar is an Assistant Editor with the National Bureau [Government] of The Indian Express in New Delhi. He primarily covers environmental policy matters which involve tracking key decisions and inner workings of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. He also covers the functioning of the National Green Tribunal and writes on the impact of environmental policies on wildlife conservation, forestry issues and climate change. Nikhil joined The Indian Express in 2024. Originally from Mumbai, he has worked in publications such as Tehelka, Hindustan Times, DNA Newspaper, News18 and Indiaspend. In the past 14 years, he has written on a range of subjects such as sports, current affairs, civic issues, city centric environment news, central government policies and politics. ... Read More
Indian Express
11-07-2025
- Health
- Indian Express
Byrnihat, Delhi top two most polluted cities in India till June-end, says new analysis
An analysis by non-profit Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) has revealed that Byrnihat on the Assam-Meghalaya border was the most polluted city in India in the first half of 2025, while national capital Delhi, Hajipur in Bihar, Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh and Gurgaon in Haryana were among the top five most polluted. Byrnihat's average particulate matter 2.5 (PM 2.5) concentration was 133 micrograms/cubic metre (ug/m3) while Delhi's PM 2.5 average stood at 87 ug/m3. PM 2.5 pollutants are very fine and easily inhalable, and can enter the bloodstream through the lungs. As per the national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS), 40 ug/m3 is the prescribed limit for PM 2.5 levels. Most days in Delhi (63) were in the moderate category, which reflects air quality concentration in the 61-90 ug/m3 range. For 29 days, the city's air quality was in the very poor quality category. Sasaram, Patna, and Rajgir in Bihar, and Talcher and Rourkela in Odisha were the other cities in the top 10 most polluted cities till June. In the January to June corresponding period for 2024, these same 10 cities were the most polluted in the country, with Byrnihat and Delhi occupying the same spots. The analysis was based on air quality data drawn from the government's continuous ambient air quality monitoring stations (CAAQMS) in 293 cities. 'Among these, 122 cities exceeded India's annual National Ambient Air Quality Standards of 40 micrograms/metre cube, while 117 cities remained below this threshold,' the analysis stated. Meanwhile, Mizoram's capital Aizawl was the cleanest city in the country. Its average PM 2.5 concentration was 8 ug/m3, which was still higher than the World Health Organization's (WHO) prescribed 5 ug/m3 level. Tirupur and Tirunelveli in Tamil Nadu, Bareilly and Vrindavan in Uttar Pradesh, Maihar in Madhya Pradesh, Imphal in Manipur, and Chamrajanagar and Chikkamagaluru in Karnataka were the other cities among the top 10 cleanest cities. Among the 131 cities covered under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP), 98 have CAAMS installed. Of these, 55 cities exceeded the national standards. Among the 141 cities not covered under NCAP, 67 cities exceeded the national standards. To underline the depth of non-compliance, the analysis pointed out that till now, 259 of the 293 cities with CAAMS had already overshot their annual particulate matter 2.5 standards. Overshoot days signify that cities have already crossed the threshold of their annual standards. Thus, even if the air quality improved, it would not meet its annual standards. An award-winning journalist with 14 years of experience, Nikhil Ghanekar is an Assistant Editor with the National Bureau [Government] of The Indian Express in New Delhi. He primarily covers environmental policy matters which involve tracking key decisions and inner workings of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. He also covers the functioning of the National Green Tribunal and writes on the impact of environmental policies on wildlife conservation, forestry issues and climate change. Nikhil joined The Indian Express in 2024. Originally from Mumbai, he has worked in publications such as Tehelka, Hindustan Times, DNA Newspaper, News18 and Indiaspend. In the past 14 years, he has written on a range of subjects such as sports, current affairs, civic issues, city centric environment news, central government policies and politics. ... Read More
