Delhi Confidential: Moved By Voyage

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh was somewhat moved when he interacted over video call with two Indian Navy women officers who are covering 40,000 km on a ship all by themselves to circumnavigate the world. The officers started their voyage on October 2 and are expected to return to India on May 25. Singh told them that he would like to personally come to receive them when they return, either in Goa or Mumbai. Sources said he was impressed when told that the two officers — one from Kerala and the other from Puducherry — took their first break at a port after 40 days and the second after 30 days.

Herbal Colours

The National Seed Corporation (NSC) outlet at Krishi Bhawan, which sells seeds and saplings, has now started selling herbal colours ahead of Holi. The colours are prepared from vegetable extracts, for instance green from spinach extract, said an Agriculture Ministry official. The outlet was reopened last year after Shivraj Singh Chouhan assumed charge of the ministry. It was closed during the Covid pandemic.

Climate Crisis

The United States’ withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accord dominated the buzz at TERI’s annual World Sustainable Development Summit (March 5-7) in New Delhi. The summit saw two major voices from the global south — Brazil’s Environment Minister Marina Silva and his Indian counterpart Bhupender Yadav weighing in on the crisis in climate multilateralism. The chair of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change skirted around the political firestorm but noted that its science is often caught in political crosshairs. Brazil will be hosting this year’s annual climate conference.