1045 IST, Thursday, May 23, 2013 
Agriculture/Energy
Himachal park set for Unesco's natural heritage statusBy Vishal Gulati
India's richest biodiversity site in the western Himalayas, the Great Himalayan National Park (GHNP) in Himachal Pradesh, is likely to become the country's seventh natural Unesco World Heritage site, a wildlife official said. |
Delhi : The Forest CityBy Rudraneil Sengupta / Mint & The Wall Street Journal
Can you believe we are still in the city?” K.S. Gopi Sundar asks with a wide smile. “This place is almost unbelievable.” A research scientist with the US-headquartered International Crane Foundation, Sundar leads a programme in India documenting the habitats of the Sarus crane. But it’s not the lanky, dancing bird that’s making Sundar happy. The reason for his joy is that 10 minutes by foot from his apartment in south Delhi, Sundar can enter Sanjay Van, a dense urban woodland, and spend hours watching a dazzling variety of birds. “Delhi has such extensive forests,” he says, “that you even get to see birds you’d never normally see in a city.”
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For every girl child born, they plant 111 treesBy Mahim Pratap Singh / The Hindu
In an atmosphere where every morning, our newspapers greet us with stories of girls being tormented, raped, killed or treated like a doormat in one way or another, trust India's “village republics” to bring in some good news from time to time. |
Water for the gods - now being conserved in templesBy Anil Sharma
An astrologer and social activist has turned the religious practice of offering water and milk in temples into a unique way of water conservation. Pandit Purushotam Gaur, known as Guruji, has developed water harvesting infrastructure in more than 300 temples in Rajasthan in central India over the past 13 years. |
This Andhra village has lessons to teachBy Anurag Dey
If India lives in its villages, then the model it perhaps must follow is Gangadevipalli, a hamlet in Andhra Pradesh's Warangal district where every house has the bare necessities of life, and more. |
Sikkim cashes in on its unique orchidsBy Madhusree Chatterjee
The flowers light up patches of the dense green forests in elegant huddles of yellow, ochre, mauve, powder blue and lemony green on slopes 5,000 feet above sea level. Described as the "natural glory" of the Himalayan state of Sikkim, the Cymbidium orchid is increasingly being projected as the state's flori-sustenance - the heartbeat of its booming flower trade. |
54 cities across India to be developed as 'solar cities'By Sujay Mehdudia/The Hindu
Fifty-four cities across India have received in-principle approval to be developed as ‘solar cities’ by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.
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Iraq seeks India's agricultural expertiseBy Prashant Sood
Iraqis will travel to India from April to get trained in irrigation and land reclamation.
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Indian farmers better than scientists: Nobel laureate Joseph StiglitzBy Imran Khan
Nobel laureate Joseph E. Stiglitz is impressed by the organic farming practices in the eastern Indian state of Bihar's Nalanda district, terming its practitioners "better than scientists" and calling for their experiences to be researched so that these can be replicated elsewhere.
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Farm doctors on call in IndiaBy Sarita Brara/The Hindu
Agri-clinics set up under an Indian Ministry of Agriculture scheme are providing expert advice to farmers and employment to agriculture graduates
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Agriculture and agro industries remain crucial to India's growing economy. Agriculture and allied sectors contribute nearly 22 per cent of GDP, while about 65-70 per cent of the population is dependent on agriculture for their livelihood. 
