In response to the Supreme Court's (SC's) strong stance on unchecked environmental violations, the Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has introduced new rules for conducting inquiries and imposing penalties on polluters. The updated rules outline key factors to consider when determining the penalties' scale. Adjudicating officers are instructed to assess elements such as the project's location and size, the industry type, and the specific nature of the violation.

Among major economies, India in FY23 recorded the steepest increase in greenhouse gas (GHG) emission, climbing 6.1 per cent, with China trailing close behind at 5.2 per cent, according to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Emissions Gap Report 2024. In contrast, GHG emission decreased in both the European Union (EU) and the United States (US) by 7.5 per cent and 1.4 per cent, respectively. Despite India's rise, its 2023 GHG emission remains relatively low at 4,140 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCOe) against China's 16,000 and the US's 5,970.

Air quality index (AQI) soared past 350 level in parts of Delhi on Thursday and experts cautioned that as weather turns colder it may breach the 400-mark ceiling and enter the 'severe' zone soon, notwithstanding the incidents of stubble burnings which have nosedived from 17,529 in 2020 to 4,262 this year.

The Ministry of Mines has directed the Geological Survey of India (GSI) to conduct a re-exploration of the 5.9 million tonnes of lithium block in Jammu and Kashmir's (J&K's) Reasi district after repeated setbacks to put the reserve up for auction again in six months.

Under regulatory scanner, Bengaluru-based Ola Electric has witnessed an uptick in its sales after facing a decline during the last few months. The company's daily average sales rose to 1,154 units in October, according to Vahan data from the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH). With sales reaching 17,315 units between October 1 and October 15, the company has also boosted its market share to 34 per cent, up from 27 per cent in September, in the electric two-wheeler (e2W) segment.

South Haryana hasn't delivered a chief minister since 1967, when his father Rao Birender Singh was ousted from power. It's a legacy Rao Inderjit Singh is determined to reclaim.

In June last year, India unveiled its first list of 29 critical minerals open for private sector exploration and mining. Since then, 38 critical mineral blocks have been auctioned, but only 14 - less than 37 per cent - have found bidders. This modest achievement was secured only after the Centre conducted a second round of auctions when the first round fell flat, failing to attract the minimum required bidders.

In a bid to capitalise on its underwater resources, the Indian government has introduced new rules for auctioning offshore mineral assets, aiming to ensure a transparent and competitive process. While these rules feature stringent eligibility criteria, they also simplify the awarding process. This move comes in the wake of the less-than-expected interest in critical mineral auctions.

The launch of a range of electric motorbikes (e-bikes) by Bengaluru-based Ola Electric, a first for the company, has disconcerted the industry because the low price the firm claims to be offering has the potential to disrupt the market. On August 15, Ola unveiled its Roadster series e-bike with a starting-price at Rs 74,999. This new pricing undercuts the previous lowest price in the category, which was Rs 110,000.

Sales of electric vehicles (EVs) in July touched 178,948 units, marking the highest monthly sales this financial year. This represents a 27.9 per cent increase from June, which saw 139,905 units sold, according to the Vahan data from the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. The strong performance in July contributed to more than one million being sold in the first seven months of the calendar year.

2023 was the worst for the tiger population, recording the highest number of mortalities in a decade with 178 tigers dying.

The Centre has increased the area granted to individual players by more than four fold in order to boost mining of critical minerals. Issuing an order on Tuesday, the government said, for mining leases, the area has been expanded from the current limit of 10 sq km to 50 sq km. For prospecting licences (granted in the case of composite licence), the limit has been increased from 25 sq km to 100 sq km.

The government has taken a slew of steps to boost the sales of electric two-wheelers and three-wheelers under its Electric Mobility Promotion Scheme (EMPS) 2024, which includes allowing manufacturers to upload claims twice a month and gives them a 120-day window to submit it. The Rs 500-crore scheme -- which had replaced the flagship Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles (FAME) scheme-- comes to an end on July 31st.

The Rs 500-crore Electric Mobility Promotion Scheme (EMPS) 2024, introduced by the Centre to provide incentives to the electric mobility industry, will conclude on July 31 with barely 3.6 per cent of the targeted vehicle sales achieved so far. This is in stark contrast to the earlier flagship Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles (FAME) scheme, which exceeded its sales targets. According to data from the Ministry of Heavy Industry (MHI), only 13,499 of the 372,215 targeted vehicles have been sold under the EMPS scheme.

So far this year, around 839,545 electric vehicles have been sold, accounting for approximately 6.69% of the total 12,541,684 vehicles sold.

India on Monday announced the results for the country's first critical mineral auction. Amid the tepid response from big players, the list of successful bidders included some lesser known names. A total of five companies secured bids for six critical mineral blocks of graphite, manganese, phosphorite, lithium, and rare earth elements with auction premiums ranging from 13.05 per cent to 400 per cent.

The maiden, critical mineral auction in India has failed to enthuse the mining industry, with the first tranche achieving less than a 50 per cent success rate and the auction of several mines was cancelled owing to low response. The results, announced by the Ministry of Mines on Monday, showed that six lesser-known companies emerged as preferred bidders. Among these were Agrasen Sponge, Kundan Gold Mines, Dalmia Bharat Refractories, Sagar Stone Industries, and Maiki South Mining.

Athletes and climate experts have expressed concerns that extreme heat could lead to severe health issues, including the risk of sportspeople collapsing or, in the worst-case scenarios, dying during the events.

The Punch.ev achieved the highest score point ever recorded by any vehicle to date, scoring 31.46 out of 32 for adult occupant protection and 45 out of 49 for child occupant protection.

As Modi's government embarks on its third term, apart from ensuring these schemes boost India's green mobility, addressing bottlenecks like battery swapping and meeting PLI deadlines are likely to be the government's major tasks.