Centre defends E20, admits fuel economy may reduce by 3%-5%

While admitting that E20-blended fuel could result in a 3%-5% reduction in the fuel economy of "some vehicles", the government has sought to explain why the blended fuel is not cur-rently cheaper than pure petrol or fuel with lower ethanol levels.

The core reason, it said, was that the government is seeking to compensate farmers adequately, and so E20 fuel becomes relative-ly more expensive to pro-duce than pure petrol whe-never oil prices fall to around $70 a barrel.

Conservation projects for river dolphins, 3 other species approved

The governing body of the National Compensatory Af-forestation Fund Manage-ment and Planning Author-ity (CAMPA) on Friday gave nod to four new conserva-tion projects for river dol-phins, snow leopards, wild water buffalo, and Indian rhinoceros. The projects approved are studies on the conser-vation and recovery action plan for river dolphins, Project Snow Leopard Phase-II (including second cycle of population estima-tion), the conservation action plan for the Indian Rhinoceros, and a pan-In-dia conservation approach for the wild water buffalo.

Fix the house

Governments should regulate social media platforms, not users

The more wicked the problem, the more the people yearn for a simpler solution. This tendency has complicated the pu-blic debate on how and how much social media harm teenagers. While the idea that these plat-forms were stoking a mental health crisis pre-vailed in several countries for long, researchers have now adopted a more cautious stance. Social media use and mental health are clearly associat-ed - more so among girls - but how much of that is actually causal and in what circumstances is still being debated.

Over and above

Women must find support to stay in jobs that match their degrees

With more Indian women entering un-iversity campuses, the gender gap in college classrooms has narrowed. The latest All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) data for 2023-24 reveal that absolute female enrolment rose by 42% over the past de-cade, climbing from 1.57 crore in 2014-15 to 2.24 crore. In comparison, male enrolment grew from 1.85 crore to 2.26 crore during the same period. Women have comfortably surpassed the male growth rate of 22.16%, pushing total higher edu-cation enrolment to a record 4.5 crore. 

A future of financial health for every Indian

India has recently undergone a remarkable transformation. According to the World Bank's Global Findex, account ownership among adults has risen from around 56% to 89% in just 10 years. This progress in access is impressive, and it creates an opportunity to do more to support people's financial health. A financial health approach will be beneficial not just for families but also for the country. Household and individual-level financial health are crucial for country-level resilient growth and prosperity.

PM's New Zealand visit will unlock new avenues of cooperation: govt.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday arrived in New Zealand on the final leg of his three-nation visit. He will hold talks with his counterpart Christoph-er Luxon and address the Indian diaspora in New Zealand. During his two-day visit, he will hold talks with Mr. Luxon on ways to enhance economic, trade and com-mercial engagements.

Govt. amends rules to regulate drugs containing alcohol

Aimed at strengthening regulatory control and pre-venting misuse of medici-nal products with a high alcohol content, the Union Health Ministry has removed the exemption from licensing require-ments for formulations containing more than 12% of ethyl alcohol.

India lays out tariffs and quotas for U.K. vehicles under trade deal

The Indian government has released the list of quo-tas and tariffs for automobile imports from the United Kingdom under the trade deal between the two countries. The India-U.K. Compre-hensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) will come into force on July 15. As per the Directorate General of Foreign Trade's notification, a total of 20,000 completely built units (CBUs) of petrol and diesel passenger vehicles will be allowed for import from the U.K. at conces-sional rates of 30-50%, de pending on the size of the car, down from the normal import duty of between 66-110%.  

AEL, Dioxycle tie up for low carbon chemical manufacturing

Foraying into the chemi-cals sector Adani Enter-prises Ltd. (AEL), the hold-ing company of the Adani Group, has entered into a long-term agreement with Dioxycle, a French clean-technology company spe-cialising in chemical manu-facturing, to develop and scale low-carbon chemical production in India.