All posts tagged: scarcity

As energy scarcity hits Bangladesh, India sends diesel using ‘Friendship Pipeline’

As energy scarcity hits Bangladesh, India sends diesel using ‘Friendship Pipeline’

Published by Parlour News

Image used for representational purpose only. | Photo Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto In a positive turn in bilateral relations, India has sent a major consignment of diesel to Bangladesh as Dhaka deals with critical shortfall in petroleum against the backdrop of the war between the U.S.-Israel and Iran, official sources here have confirmed. Apart from the 5,000 metric tonnes of diesel from India’s Numaligarh Refinery that was purchased by Bangladesh this week, there is a request from Bangladesh for more petroleum supplies, but that issue will be addressed after prioritising India’s domestic demands, The Hindu was told. Sources described the supply of 5,000 metric tonnes of diesel, which took place weeks after Tarique Rahman became the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, as “regular ongoing energy trade between the two countries”. The supply was completed using the India-Bangladesh ‘Friendship Pipeline’, which was commenced in 2017-18 and operationalised in 2023. A Bangladesh official welcomed the supply via an existing pipeline, with capacity for more. “The supply was made by using the existing pipeline, and it can be utilised to …

A model tribal school in Maharashtra battles water scarcity to fight migration

A model tribal school in Maharashtra battles water scarcity to fight migration

Published by Parlour News

Six-year-old Ananya Gavit can write with both her hands, read English textbooks meant for sixth graders and recite articles from the Constitution of India. Like her, 59 children who come to the Zilla Parishad School in Hiwali, a remote tribal hamlet in Maharashtra’s Tryambakeshwar taluka in Nashik district, find second home here. They are protected from seasonal migration. The school runs 365 days of the year, 12 hours a day, providing two meals to all the enrolled children. There are no weekends, no public holidays. The teachers come every day, so do students, many from as far as 22 km. In fact, one parent from a tribal district which is over 110 km away from this school, has taken a room on rent in the hamlet to ensure education for his child. The dropout rate is zero, prides the school. The focus is on activity-based, experiential and hands-on learning, with an emphasis on vocational training, agriculture. The children are also prepared for competitive examinations. The impact of the school and the attention it has garnered, …

Parliament Winter Session: No scarcity of key anti-TB drugs in central

Parliament Winter Session: No scarcity of key anti-TB drugs in central

Published by Webster

There is no shortage of essential anti-TB drugs like Rifampicin and Ethambutol in the central and state warehouses, Union Minister of State for Health Anupriya Patel told the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday. She was responding to a question on whether there has been any shortage of key anti-tuberculosis drugs in recent months, the reasons for delay in tender finalisation by the Central Tuberculosis Division and the measures being taken to ensure uninterrupted drug supply under the National Tuberculosis Elimination Programme (NTEP). In a written reply, Patel said the NTEP is being implemented under the aegis of National Health Mission (NHM) across the country. “There are no shortages of any key anti-TB drugs, including for Rifampicin and Ethambutol, in the Central and State warehouses. Rate contract model has been established for all drugs including newer and shorter regimen drugs for 2025-27, while ensuring adequate buffer,” she stated. Several steps have been taken to strengthen the supply chain of quality drugs, the response stated. These include timely submission of indents to the procurement agency, real-time tracking of …

Scarcity of medicines, consumables hits key Delhi govt hospitals; patients in the lurch | Delhi News

Published by Parlour News

His 82-year-old father admitted in the orthopaedic department of the Lok Nayak Hospital following a fracture in the leg after suffering a fall in the bathroom, east Delhi resident Sunil is busy arranging for a rod needed to fix the broken limb. Insisting that he is only doing what the doctors asked him to, he said, “We have not been given anything by the hospital. This will cost me around Rs 20,000.” Sunil’s is not the only case. With a number of key Delhi government hospitals facing shortage of medicines, several patients have to buy medicines and consumable items used in patient care on their own, according to doctors and nursing officials. The shortage is also at the centre of a recent war of words between Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena and state health minister Saurabh Bhardwaj. While the L-G has asked the health minister for a meeting, Bharadwaj, in turn, invited him to visit a few Delhi government hospitals, stating that a majority of patients come from BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh and Haryana. The …

‘Rapidly rising water scarcity is a reality in India and is expected to worsen in the coming year’

Published by Parlour News

Woman drinkking potable water in the hot sun, from a temporary 1000 litre water storage tank installed on the road side at Bangarappanagara, Rajarajeshwari Nagar zone, in Bengaluru on Friday. | Photo Credit: K. MURALI KUMAR “Rapidly rising water scarcity is a reality in India and is expected to worsen in the coming years. Water conservation is not just a matter of individual actions; it is a collective responsibility that spans communities, institutions, and nations. Through education, outreach and financial incentives, we can empower individuals, communities and institutions to acquire and develop water efficient habits and technologies. By adopting a culture of conservation through public awareness campaigns, social norms and regulatory frameworks, we can ensure that water conservation becomes a way of life rather than a social responsibility,” said Gopal Naik, Jal Jeevan Mission (Chair) and Professor, IIM Bangalore. Amidst the water crisis in Bengaluru, Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) Chair and Office at IIM Bangalore, in collaboration with UNICEF and the Shri Kshetra Dharmasthala Rural Development Project (SKDRDP), organised a national seminar on water conservation …

Centre denies fertiliser shortage; farmers flag scarcity of key nutrient | Latest News India

Published by Webster

The Centre has denied reports of shortage of fertilisers amid peak winter sowing across the country. Yet, farmers in some regions reported scarcity of a key crop nutrient known as DAP, especially in Bihar, where cultivators reported black-marketing and price gouging. Reports of shortages, particularly of non-urea-based di-ammonium phosphate (DAP), come in the middle of a busy rabi or winter-sown cropping season, which accounts for nearly half of the country’s annual food output, ranging from wheat to lentils and oilseeds. Last week, farmers in Bundelkhand held large protests outside fertiliser shops due to non-vailibility of DAP. “The position with respect to availability of fertilisers is comfortable and there is weekly monitoring of movement of fertilisers.,” an official said, requesting not to be quoted. A plentiful winter harvest, which will hit markets next year, is critical for Asia’s third-largest economy, as extreme weather shriveled both wheat and rice crops this year, sending federally held stocks to multi-year lows. Despite the cooling of the overall consumer inflation rate, cereal prices rose 12.96% in November from 12.08% in …