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EIA Draft 2020: An overview

Cover EIA Draft

The EIA 2020 draft notification was published by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC), intending to replace the existing Environmental Impact Assessment Notification, 2006 under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. Ever since it was published, the draft was subjected to criticism and debate over its departure from existing regulations. Here is an overview.

What is EIA?

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is a decision-making tool based on the study of the effects and impact of a particular proposed project on the environment. The EIA compares various alternatives available for a project, to identify the best option in terms of both financial and environmental costs, while ensuring they meet the desired objectives of the project.

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Union Budget Analysis: A personal take

It’s been around a week since the honourable Finance Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman presented her 2nd full Union Budget of India. The Union Budget comes at a time when the nation is under the grip of a severe economic slowdown with the GDP growth rates at 4.5% for Q2 2019-20. With the growth rate lowest in over 6 years and falling continuously for 7 quarters now on the back of declining demand, expectations were definitely high for some much needed corrective measures to bring the economy back on track.

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Future of mobility: EVs, The way forward

EV

Electric Vehicles (EV) have been the buzz word for sometime now. Gone were the days, the only option you had was a Reva. Automobile companies are jumping into the EV wagon with both feet with more options for consumers than ever before.

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Think late, suffer soon: Learnings from Maradu demolitions

Maradu Demolitions

The honorable Supreme Court of India in September 2019 had directed the State Government of Kerala to demolish 4 residential complexes which were constructed on the lakeside facing Vembanad at Maradu, Kochi due to violation of Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) norms. The order was executed by the State Government by demolishing the said buildings by a controlled implosion. But, was this the right approach and does this solve anything?

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Why the National Infrastructure Pipeline matters

NIP

A couple of days back the central finance minister announced the National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP), a 102 lakh crore plan as to how the government aims to invest in the infrastructure sector over the next five years. In what appears to be the most ambitious plan yet by the current government to achieve the $5 trillion economy by 2025, the report details the infrastructure goals, strategies and the quantum of funds allocated to various sectors.

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