Environment & Ecology
Climate, biodiversity, pollution control and environmental legislation
Govt extends excise duty exemption to higher ethanol-petrol blends
The Central Government has extended the excise duty exemption on petrol blended with higher levels of ethanol, reducing central excise duty to nil on petrol ...
Govt waives excise duty on ethanol-blended petrol
The Finance Ministry notified a complete ("nil") central excise duty exemption on four higher ethanol-blended petrol variants: E22, E25, E27, and E30 (petrol...
BIS sets norms to protect indigenous seeds
The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has published Indian Standard IS 20201:2026, a comprehensive management framework for Community Seed Banks (CSBs) across...
El Nino has set in, Positive IOD likely by July, says Japanese weather body
Japan's Meteorological Agency (JMA), one of the key international agencies monitoring ENSO, has confirmed that El Niño conditions have set in for 2026. JMA's...
Higher ethanol blended petrol between 22-30% exempted from central excise duty
The Department of Revenue (Ministry of Finance) issued a notification on June 11, 2026, exempting E22, E25, E27, and E30 petrol blends from Central Excise Du...
El Nino is here and scientists fear it’ll be big, bad and costly with heat, floods, droughts, fires
Scientists and meteorological agencies have confirmed that an El Niño event has set in for 2026, with forecasts suggesting it could rival or exceed the inten...
Watch: Government waives excise duty on E22 to E30 petrol blends
The Ministry of Finance notified a complete exemption from Central Excise Duty, Special Additional Excise Duty, Road and Infrastructure Cess, and Agriculture...
The El Niño isn’t ‘Super’ yet. But will ‘The Little Boy’ cast a long shadow over India?
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast the 2026 southwest monsoon at 90% of the Long Period Average (LPA), signalling a "below-normal" season...
First UN carbon credits under Paris Agreement face scrutiny over Myanmar junta links
The first carbon credits ever issued under the Paris Agreement's Article 6.4 mechanism — from a cookstove distribution project in Myanmar — are facing intens...
Nations may agree to new target of electricity meeting 35% of global energy demand by 2035
At the Bonn Climate Change Conference (June 2026), the COP31 Presidency — held by Türkiye — launched a new voluntary global electrification goal dubbed "35 b...
Human contribution to global warming highest ever in 2025, says study
A new study — the annual *Indicators of Global Climate Change* report led by the University of Leeds and authored by over 50 international scientists — finds...
Hindu Kush Himalaya region to face drier monsoon, but threats of climate-induced hazards remain: New analysis
A new analysis of the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) region projects drier monsoon conditions in coming seasons but simultaneously warns that the frequency and in...
E85 launched, but India’s ambitious flexible fuel roadmap is facing a chicken & egg problem
E85 fuel — a blend of 85% ethanol and 15% petrol — was launched across 48 retail outlets in India on 5 June 2026, initially targeting two-wheeler flex-fuel v...
El Niño emerges in Pacific, raising heat risks and crop threats
The first El Niño event since 2023 has emerged in the Pacific Ocean in 2026, with sea surface temperatures (SSTs) in the central and eastern equatorial Pacif...
May 2026 was second warmest May on record, Copernicus says
The Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) reported that May 2026 was the second warmest May in recorded history, with a global average surface air temperat...
Resettlement census to begin to make way for Great Nicobar project
The Andaman and Nicobar Islands Administration launched a Resettlement and Rehabilitation (R&R) census for families likely to be displaced by the trunk infra...
India pushes for dialogue on climate finance, adaptation at Bonn climate talks
At the 64th session of UNFCCC Subsidiary Bodies (SB64), held in Bonn, Germany from June 8–18, 2026, India actively engaged in negotiations on climate finance...
Bonn Climate Meet: India flags declining climate finance levels, COP31 Presidency announces '35% by 2035' electrification target
At the Bonn Climate Change Conference (SB64, June 2026), India called on developed economies to significantly scale up climate finance commitments and accele...
Strategic afterthought: On the Great Nicobar project
The Great Nicobar Island Development Project — an ₹81,000 crore (~USD 9.7 billion) mega-infrastructure initiative on the southernmost island of the Andaman a...
Govt bets on coal gasification projects to cut import dependency, targets Rs 4 lakh crore investment
The Union Coal Ministry has set a target of attracting Rs 4 lakh crore in combined domestic and foreign private investment for coal gasification projects, wi...