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- India’s Agrarian Crisis Is Not New, It has been Brewing and Growing for Many Years June 30, 2015
NEW DELHI, June 24, 2015: We all know that India is facing an agrarian crisis of an unprecedented scale. Entire rural India — 60 per cent of the country’s population – is struggling with it. Agricultural growth rate is down to 0.2 per cent (from 3.7 per cent in 2013-14). Food prices have started to creep up. Finance minister Arun Jaitley has said agriculture has become a sector of concern.
But this is not a recent phenomenon, says a new report published by the Centre for Science and Environment, India. The crisis has been brewing and growing for many years, and is now reaching its tipping point. Started by successive failures of monsoons and freak weather events, it has been aided by government policies and actions including inadequate and vague measures for compensating crop loss and reduced investments in and support to official schemes and policies and increasing farmer debts.
Down To Earth managing editor Richard Mahapatra says if predictions on El Nino come true, the agrarian crisis will acquire mammoth proportions, given the already distressed condition of farmers. The economic damages of this, he points out, would be severe. The magazine reports that while in 2013, five states were affected (0.35 million ha of crops destroyed, causing an economic loss of Rs 500 crore), 15 states are suffering already in 2015 (18.23 million ha affected, causing an economic loss till date of Rs 20,000 crore).
Says Mahapatra: “If India is under the impact of El Nino, this will be our second consecutive year of monsoon failure and fifth consecutive year of crop damage. The pattern is hauntingly similar to the most severe droughts in recent Indian history caused by two successive monsoon failures – the Bihar famine (1965-1966) which affected 60 million people, and the 1986-87 drought which impacted 300 million.”
Talking of this daunting scenario, researchers from Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) – which helps publish Down To Earth — say that India’s foodgrain production may come down by close to 6 per cent, as per recent estimates. The magazine says while reasons for freak weather events are riddled with meteorological mysteries, the government support structure for handling such calamities is archaic and insufficient. The ways in which the government calculates damage and disburses compensation are neither simple nor adequate or fair.
For example, the entire procedure to assess crop damage is “ancient”. Damage reports are prepared on the basis of guess work. Down To Earth’s assessment shows that about 50 per cent of beneficiaries are left out of the compensation procedure. Farmers and farmers’ activists say even the maximum compensation amount is 70 per cent less than the market value of the crop lost. Only 4 per cent of farmers have insurance to cover crop loss, as small farmers find the premium too high and the sum assured hard to come by.
Down To Earth has highlighted the trends using data that show the crisis has been brewing for many years and could be far more serious than it seems:
Declining rural wages: The Economic Survey of 2014 says that rural wage growth declined to 3.6 per cent in 2014 from 20 per cent in 2011 – this also indicated a major dip in income for 400 million daily wagers. The magazine quotes economist C P Chandrasekhar: “Dip in the rural wages and consumption are symptoms of an agrarian crisis. While some of the trends are recent, the crisis has been there for long. Underlying the crisis are unavailability of crops, the collapse of public investment and lowering expenditure in rural India, and the return to unsustainable practices depending on farm loans.”
There are indications that the slowdown in the real estate sector and construction industry in urban areas has triggered a reverse migration. Villages are now flush with more labourers, bringing down the wage rate. The situation will worsen in the near future, as economists say 10 million people will move to rural areas after the urban economy starts slowing down.
Lower allocations to MGNREGA: Another reason could be the declining interest in MGNREGA which guarantees 100 days of employment. “Since the Act was launched in 2005, it has given a boost to the local wage rate. But fund allocations under the Act have reduced since the NDA government came to power,” says Mahapatra. “This year, despite consequent crop failures, the Act registered only 40 days of job demands — one of the lowest in recent years,” he adds.
Declining foodgrain support price: The minimum support price (MSP), fixed by the government for a crop, should have come to the rescue of the farmers in these trying times, but the government’s recent decisions have led to downsizing of official support for higher MSP. Soon after India Meteorological Department (IMD) predicted that the year could witness a deficit rainfall, the Reserve Bank of India suggested that the government should limit the increase in agricultural support prices to control inflation.
Dip in food prices: This year, foodgrain production is expected to be 5 per cent lower compared to last year. In an ideal situation, the prices would have gone up. But wholesale prices for paddy and wheat have crashed. The situation is not going to improve in the near future, as global food prices are touching a historic low. The Food Price Index has fallen 22 per cent from its 2011 peak. Indian farmers are already feeling the pinch of this crash; farmers growing export-oriented commodities, such as cotton, rubber, tea and sugarcane, have plunged into crisis due to dwindling realizations and surplus stock.
Credit bubble: Rural credit lending is rising. It will lead to a situation where credit lending agencies will be crippled with bad loans. The 70th National Sample Survey Organisation report, released in February, showed that agricultural lending grew by 24 per cent during 2003-13, while the agricultural GDP grew by just 13 per cent.
Say CSE researchers: “This is worrying as it indicates that while other growth factors like production and consumption remain stagnant or are declining, agricultural GDP is growing due to credit growth. In a way, it is a credit bubble waiting to burst as over 80 per cent of the borrowers are small farmers who don’t have the capacity to pay back. This year, Maharashtra, Telengana and Andhra Pradesh governments have demanded the waiver of loans worth Rs 92,000 crore; in 2008-10, it was Rs 65,000 crore. This threatens banks’ ability to sustain lending.”
Says Down To Earth editor Sunita Narain: “All these indicators point to one thing – that farmers are at a critical stage, worse than the situation of early 2000s that resulted in a spate of farmer suicides. The government must act before it is too late. It must analyse where it is going wrong in its strategies and immediately prepare a long-term plan to resolve the crisis.”
- Engagement Manager, Principal, Sustainability Consulting December 16, 2014 Company Name: cKinetics.
Category Corporate Industry Consulting Level Middle/Senior Management Location New Delhi, IndiaClick to read full details for Engagement Manager, Principal, Sustainability Consulting.
- India’s Coastal Cities Must Plan, Implement Climate Risk Management Strategies November 14, 2014
New Delhi – Coastal cities in India need to plan and implement climate risk management strategies as an integral part of city development to overcome the risks posed by climate change, natural disasters and other extreme events. These were among the findings of three reports released in October at a National Conference on ‘Climate Resilient Coastal Cities’, where participants reinforced the need to generate awareness and initiate dialogue on climate change issues and climate resilience planning of coastal cities in developing countries.
The newly-released reports include Case Studies on Panaji and Visakhapatnam, and a Working Paper “Planning Climate Resilient Coastal Cities: Learnings from Panaji and Visakhapatnam, India”. The reports focus on the impact of sea level rise and other climate parameters like rainfall and storms on the infrastructure of coastal cities, as an estimated 320 million people in India today live in coastal areas. The conference was organized by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) in association with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
In his video address, Dr. R. K. Pachauri, Director General, TERI, said, “India’s coastal cities are particularly vulnerable on account of sea level rise as an impact of climate change, as well as the increase in frequency and intensity of climate related extreme events which in recent years have caused substantial damage to life and property. The National Conference on ‘Climate Resilient Coastal Cities’ has focused on the growing need for creating climate resilient coastal cities and steps by which a transformation of current cities in this direction can be achieved.”
Mr. Vinod C. Menon, Former Member, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), said, “India’s coastal areas are spread over eight per cent of the geographical area in 84 districts falling within 13 states and Union territories, and accommodating an estimated population of about 320 million people (which roughly accounts to about 40 per cent of the country’s population). In the last 270 years, 21 of the 23 major cyclones with casualty figures of about 10,000 lives or more worldwide occurred mostly in India and Bangladesh, over the area surrounding the Indian subcontinent.”
“The insights from TERI’s studies on climate resilience in Visakhapatnam and Panaji will help address the threats posed by storm surges, cyclones, cloud bursts, floods, tsunami, climate change and sea level rise, and other hydro-meteorological disasters in the coastal areas, as increasing trends of urbanization are putting high density clusters at risk in the newly-emerging coastal cities in the country,” Menon added.
The report makes far-reaching recommendations and steps to be undertaken in the areas of ecologically-sensitive zones, solid waste management, heritage and tourism, water supply and sewerage and drainage, and how coastal areas can adopt structural and non-structural measures to deal with the risks posed by climate change.
Mr. Christopher Evans, Deputy Program Manager, CRIS Program, said, “Climate resilience is an increasingly important requirement for urban infrastructure. Cities face significant challenges in meeting the needs of growing urban populations, and infrastructure investments being made today will last for decades. We need to make sure those investments can endure the impacts of long-term climate change to have a lasting benefit for citizens.”
As part of its Climate Resilient Infrastructure Services (CRIS) Program under the larger Climate Change Resilient Development (CCRD) Project, USAID is supporting low-lying and coastal cities in developing countries to increase climate resilience of their infrastructural services. In India, USAID is supporting TERI under the CRIS program in helping the cities of Panaji and Visakhapatnam to plan and implement climate risk management strategies as an integral part of city development.
The conference enabled the exchange of peer knowledge and dissemination of experiences and learning from the CRIS program as part of the larger CCRD project in India and beyond, as well as to scale up and replicate such initiatives. The conference played host to top policymakers, practitioners, academicians, multilateral/bilateral organizations, stakeholders from Central and State governments, peer organizations, and, networks working in the field of climate resilience and cities.
Eminent experts who spoke at the conference included Dr. A. S. Unnikrishnan, Scientist, NIO and Author, IPCC, Mr. G. Padmanabhan, Emergency Analyst and Officer in Charge DM Unit, UNDP, Dr. P. K. Mohanty, Professor, Department of Marine Sciences, Berhampur University, and Mr. Md. Sarafat Hossain Khan, Project Director, PMU, Coastal Embankment Improvement Project-I, Bangladesh Water Development Board, Dhaka.
The speakers analyzed available knowledge on sea level rise and discussed concepts and approaches being tested and applied in various coastal cities to make them climate resilient. A panel discussion, held during the conference, focused on key drivers, including implementation, policy and governance issues in managing built and natural ecosystems in coastal cities in the wake of climate change and sea level rise. A documentary by TERI’s Film and Television Unit on the impacts of climate change on infrastructure and assets in coastal cities was also released on the occasion.
Check the following link to read/download the Working Paper:
The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) is an independent, not-for-profit research organization deeply committed to every aspect of energy, environment, and sustainable development. From providing environment-friendly solutions to rural energy problems, to helping shape the development of the Indian oil and gas sector; from tackling global climate change issues across many continents to enhancing forest conservation efforts among local communities; from advancing solutions to growing urban transportation and air pollution problems to promoting energy efficiency in Indian industries, the emphasis has always been on finding innovative solutions to make the world a better place to live in. All activities at TERI move from formulating local and national–level strategies to suggesting global solutions tackling critical energy and environment related issues.
Headed by Dr. R. K. Pachauri, also the chairperson of the Nobel Peace Prize winning climate change body, IPCC, TERI has emerged as an institution of excellence for its path-breaking research, and is a global brand widely respected by political leaders, policy makers, corporate entities as well as the civil society at large. For more information, visit www.teriin.org.
- Associate Research Fellow, Research Fellow October 17, 2014 Company Name: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
Category Research Industry Government Level Middle Management Location New Delhi, IndiaClick to read full details for Associate Research Fellow, Research Fellow.
- Programme Officer October 13, 2014 Company Name: International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD).
Category Regulatory Industry Government Level Junior/Middle Management Location Kathmandu, NepalClick to read full details for Programme Officer.
- Conservation Biologist, GOI-GEF-UNDP India High Range Landscape Project September 16, 2014 Company Name: United Nations Development Programme (UNDP India).
Category Social Sector Industry Government Level Junior/Middle Management Location Munnar / Kottayam, Kerala, IndiaClick to read full details for Conservation Biologist, GOI-GEF-UNDP India High Range Landscape Project.
- Associate, Green Power Market Development Group-India September 10, 2014 Company Name: World Resources Institute – India (WRI India).
Category Research Industry Environment Level Middle/Senior Management Location Bangalore, IndiaClick to read full details for Associate, Green Power Market Development Group-India.
- Building REDD+ Expertise to Address Climate Change Challenges September 6, 2014
Nairobi – While significant efforts are underway to better understand the role that forests play in climate change, the field of study remains relatively new. This is especially true when considering the complex policy, governance and technical requirements associated with managing climate change mitigation services provided by forests.
Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation while promoting conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancing forest carbon stocks (REDD+) provides an international framework for action.
In this context, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the UN-REDD Programme together with the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies have developed a pedagogical guide for REDD+ aimed at university professors and graduate students. The guide may also be useful to a broader audience interested in building capacity, knowledge and awareness on REDD+ and related issues.
“Forests in a Changing Climate: A Sourcebook for Integrating REDD+ into Academic Programmes” is a comprehensive syllabus for the academic study of REDD+, designed to facilitate the integration of REDD+ concepts and approaches into a multi-disciplinary university programme. The Sourcebook identifies relevant information, tools and experience within the UN-REDD Programme, and seeks to engage universities as strategic partners in REDD+ education, research and outreach.
The Sourcebook is divided into 12 modules introducing the REDD+ context and the links between forest carbon and climate change, the REDD+ approach and REDD+ readiness process, and technical aspects of REDD+ such as safeguards and measurement, reporting and verification (MRV) of forest carbon.
Together the modules provide background information, case studies, and key questions for discussion along with reference material and tools and methodologies. These can be used to develop university courses, produce lectures, formulate class discussions, and draft assignments and tests.
The Sourcebook will also be a valuable resource for the members of UNEP’s Global Universities Partnership on Environment and Sustainability (GUPES), a partnership of over 430 universities worldwide.
Building sufficient capacity for REDD+, including research capacity to address gaps and challenges, will be essential if REDD+ is to achieve mitigation, protect forests, and achieve vital social and environmental objectives, including the Sustainable Development Goals.
The Sourcebook is, in part, a stocktaking of knowledge and initiatives, including ongoing work under the UN-REDD Programme. In presenting the breadth of knowledge on REDD+, the Sourcebook seeks to facilitate the integration of REDD+ into higher education around the world in order to build a more sustainable future.
“While it is clear that REDD+ is an opportunity to build links between forests and climate change mitigation, achieving success will require contributions from researchers, scholars and students around the world. We have to invest now in building REDD+ expertise through tools such as the Sourcebook for integrating REDD+ into academic programmes,” said Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UNEP
Mette L. Wilkie, Director, Division of Environmental Policy Implementation, UNEP, commented, “Tackling the issues of climate change requires a wide array of expertise and innovative ideas as well as an understanding of both the policy elements and the scientific facts related to the most challenging phenomenon of our time.”
Check the following link to read/download the Sourcebook:
- India’s Burgeoning Solar & Wind Energy Markets to Boost Employment August 30, 2014
New Delhi – Mr. Suresh P. Prabhu, Head of the Advisory Group for Integrated Development of Power, Coal and Renewable Energy, and former Union Minister, released a series of reports on Renewable Energy Jobs and Finance published by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) in New Delhi on August 25.
These reports are the first independent, external analysis of the employment opportunities for India’s solar energy and wind energy markets and draw from extensive discussions with stakeholders, and research and analysis of national, state and international programs. The reports also include an assessment of domestic and international opportunities to fund clean energy in India.
According to NRDC-CEEW analysis, India’s solar and wind programs have catalysed rapid growth providing much needed energy access, creating employment opportunities for India’s workforce. The analysis also finds that deployment of innovative financing solutions is needed in order to scale India’s renewable energy markets and create wide-spread job creation.
“Energy access and clean energy development is a national priority,” said Mr. Prabhu while delivering the keynote address, “Solar and wind energy provides a tremendous opportunity to provide light to Indian homes and jobs to local communities.”
The Indian solar industry has been maturing at a rapid pace, growing more than a hundredfold in four years to reach over 2.6 gigawatts (GW) of installed capacity in 2014. India is the world’s 5th largest wind energy producer, with over 20 GW of installed capacity.
Key findings from the NRDC-CEEW reports are as follows:
Key Findings and Recommendations from Renewable Energy Jobs in India
- Solar photovoltaic (PV) projects commissioned in India between 2011 and 2014 created approximately 24,000 full time equivalent (FTE) jobs: smaller projects up to 5 MW in size may provide the most employment opportunities per MW
- Along with various estimates of job creation in the wind sector, grid-connected renewable energy is estimated to have created nearly 70,000 FTE jobs in India so far
- Majority of jobs created by solar PV plants are generated during construction and commissioning: in case of Kiran Energy’s 20 MW Solar Plant in Rajasthan, 180 FTE jobs were created during the first year
- Local communities are the main beneficiaries of employment of wind power projects during the operations and maintenance phase: out of a total of 438 FTE jobs created by the Gamesa-Renew Power 85 MW wind power project in Maharashtra, 1/5th of the jobs were generated for locals in semi-skilled and unskilled roles
- Solar and wind companies must demonstrate greater transparency on jobs data: this will aid business and policy makers to formulate better policies and programs; and showcase the importance of renewable energy to the local economy
- Rooftop solar PV presents a viable alternative to diesel backup power for companies. It also generates local skilled employment. Hero MotoCorp, the world’s largest motorcycle manufacturer, have already installed a 80 kW rooftop PV project in Haryana, and looking to add solar PV to other manufacturing facilities
Key Findings and Recommendations for Renewable Energy Finance in India
- Use generation based incentives and penalties in combination with any form of viability gap or tax related capital subsidies
- Indian government should boost financing for renewable energy projects by improving access to low cost finance, using diverse financial mechanisms such as infrastructure debt funds, priority sector lending, green bonds and tax incentives (such as accelerated depreciation and tradable tax certificates)
- Enhance investors’ confidence in renewable energy by strict enforcement of Renewable Purchase Obligations (RPOs) and nurturing the Renewable Energy Certificate (REC) market
- Consider developing a green bank and green bonds (capitalised through the National Clean Energy Fund, issued by the central or state governments) to leverage more private investment in renewable energy
“Clean energy development is vital to economic growth in India,” said Anjali Jaiswal, Director of Natural Resources Defense Council’s India Initiative. “While the National Solar Mission and the proposed National Wind Mission still face significant hurdles, India has already made important strides to attract new domestic and international players into the market and generate local jobs.”
Dr Arunabha Ghosh, CEO of CEEW, an independent think-tank, added, “As nations race to become clean energy leaders, governments around the world will be closely following the progress of India’s renewable energy revolution. It is essential that the Indian government adapts its strategy to boost confidence in projects and spur investment from a variety of funding sources and financial institutions.”
For full reports and issue papers, visit:
The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is an international non-profit environmental organization with more than 1.4 million members and online activists. Since 1970, their lawyers, scientists, and other environmental specialists have worked to protect the world’s natural resources, public health, and the environment. NRDC has offices in New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Bozeman, MT, and Beijing. For more information, visit www.nrdc.org.
The Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) is an independent, not-for-profit policy research institution in India, chaired by former Union Minister Suresh Prabhu. CEEW addresses pressing global challenges through an integrated and internationally focused approach. It does so through high quality research, partnerships with public and private institutions, and engagement with and outreach to the wider public. The International Centre for Climate Governance has ranked CEEW as India’s top climate change think-tank two years in a row. In 2014, the Global Go To Think Tank Index ranked CEEW 1st in India in three categories. For more information, visit http://ceew.in.
- Pollution from Industrial Sites Affecting Health of Delhi Residents August 25, 2014
New Delhi, India – Polluting industrial sites dot the entire city and are probably putting Delhites at a huge health risk, points out the latest Toxics Link study “On the Edge – Potential Hotspots in Delhi” released on august 12.
18 sites were identified as potential ‘hotspots’ in this first-of-its-kind study in Delhi, mapping the city’s polluting centres. These sites are regularly contaminating the city’s environment by releasing toxic pollutants and thereby creating health concerns. Notably, Delhi is one of the most polluted cities in the world. Pollution is a key health determinant, and according to World Health Organization (WHO), about a quarter of all diseases are caused due to prolonged exposure to environmental pollution.
51 sites, located in and near national capital Delhi, were examined during this study on parameters such as: industrial processes, use of chemicals, discharge and emissions, disposal methods, and occupational health & safety. Most of them were found to harbour unauthorized industrial activities and were in or close to residential areas. 18 of these sites – which spread from Samaypur and Badli in the north to Mayapuri and Okhla in the south; and Nazafgarh in the northwest to Mandoli in east – failed on most parameters and were found to be causing unacceptable environmental impacts. The findings at these sites made Toxics Link researchers aptly call them the “potential hotspots”.
“As per the Master Plan Delhi (MPD) 2021, all polluting industries need to be shifted out of Delhi by 2021. Though a lot of efforts have been made but the problem persists. In 2011, MCD was supposed to close down around 22,000 industrial units, but not much seems to have been done,” says Satish Sinha, Associate Director, Toxics Link.
Many of the hotspots were engaged in illegal operations such as lead acid battery recycling, pickling and e-waste recycling, and were found to be releasing acids, emitting toxic fumes of lead, mercury, etc. Units with hazardous activities like CFL processing, textile dyeing, metal works, etc., also dotted these potential hotspots in the city. Thousands of workers were employed in the units, which had no occupational safety norms or standards.
“The hotspots are spread across Delhi; and the toxic releases could be gradually poisoning the entire city inhabitants,” says Priti Mahesh, Chief Program Coordinator, Toxics Link. “Most of the times, the diseases caused by such environmental pollution remain undetected – resulting in much greater damage to the body,” she adds.
One of the potential hotspots, Prem Nagar, near Mandoli, has close to 110 illegal lead acid battery recycling units. These illegal units use coal to fuel crude furnaces, and recover lead in a rudimentary manner. During recycling process, lead fumes and ash are released, thereby contaminating the air and soil and also putting the workers at risk.
Wazirpur has been identified as one of the city’s dirtiest areas by the researchers. It has around 1,200 small units, a large number of them involved in pickling, classified as hazardous industrial activity and not allowed within the city limits. (Pickling is a treatment for metal surfaces used to remove impurities such as stains, inorganic contaminants, rust or scale from ferrous metals, copper, and aluminium alloys). Concentrated acids are used in the pickling units that are not adequately ventilated – leading to acid fumes in the work spaces. This increases the risk of respiratory illness among workers. Used acid is ultimately discharged into water bodies or soil, without any environmental safeguards.
Prem Nagar and Wazirpur areas are just two among the many frontline polluters. The three landfills in the city are also loaded beyond their capacity and there has been no effort to control the leachate, which might be causing grave concerns in the nearby settlements. Besides, there are several “legacy sites” that are not currently operational, but the waste deposits or contamination of past might be a cause for concern, as no remediation measures have been taken till date.
India has enacted several laws to safeguard environment but they have not been implemented strictly.
“Thousands of small and medium polluting enterprises, recycling units, unorganized markets exist in the state, whose activities are very polluting,” says Ravi Agarwal, Director, Toxics Link. He adds, “Unless we start addressing these concerns, we might be putting Delhi on the brink of an environmental disaster.”
This is the first time any report has done exhaustive mapping of Delhi’s polluting units. Such hotspots probably exist all over the country. More such studies need to be undertaken in other cities – as most of them currently are, or will be, facing similar challenges in the future.
Facts at a Glance:
- This is the first-of-its-kind study undertaken to map Delhi’s polluting centres.
- 18 out of 51 sites reviewed in the study were identified as ‘potential hotspots’ and were spread all across the city.
- Some of these critical sites are Wazirpur, Mandoli, Old Seelampur, Anand Parvat, Moti Nagar and Mayapuri. (Full list in the report)
- Hazardous activities like lead acid battery recycling, pickling, CFL processing, etc., are carried out in these areas. Toxic chemicals and acids are routinely released thereby contaminating the environment.
- Most workers face occupational health risks and are unaware about the hazards involved.
- All of these hotspots are located in and around residential areas, thereby increasing the risk of exposure to general public.
Check the following link to read/download the Full Report:
Source: Toxics Link.
About Toxics Link
Toxics Link is an environmental research and advocacy organization set up in 1996 by The Just Environment Charitable Trust. It lays a special emphasis on reaching out to numerous grassroots groups; community based organizations and the public at large through its empirical study-based information on environmental issues. Toxics Link works closely with all other stakeholders working on similar issues and has played a seminal role in facilitating the development of several common platforms for them on the national, regional as well as international levels. Toxics Link works in the area of Community and Waste, Toxics-free Health Care, Clean Industry, Chemicals & Health and Information & Communication. It is based in New Delhi and has nodal offices in Kolkata in West Bengal. For more information, visit www.toxicslink.org.