Firecracker ban: If the SC move reduces air pollution, how will we know?

Firecrackers are undoubtedly a threat to environment and our health, but it may not be possible to accurately measure how effective this ban will be 

The Supreme Court of India recently banned the sale and stocking of firecrackers in the National Capital Regionuntil November 1, barely 10 days before Diwali. Will the move have an impact on Delhi's air? And if it will, how will it be gauged? Siddharth Singh demystifies the order and its implication for Business Standard.

economy today: In banning the sale and stocking of firecrackers in Delhi-NCR, the Supreme Court cited studies that showed firecrackers led to a spike in pollution, which is hardly unobvious. That something must be done about air pollution in Delhi is a forgone conclusion – after all, between 10,000 and 30,000 people are estimated to die every year because of it.

After news of the firecracker ban spread, the usual cycle of brouhaha ensued, with culture warriors perceiving it as an attack on the Hindu faith and demanding concessions from other religions. The absurdness of this argument aside, they also cited – correctly – that pollution is not merely caused by firecrackers on Diwali.

In fact, much of the pollution comes from road dust, agri residue burning, electricity production and road transport. The effort on these other fronts has unfortunately been incremental and slow. On the other hand, the firecracker ban impacts the celebration of an important religious festival in India. Therefore, air pollution levels before and after the ban will be observed closely by all....READ MORE

Richard Thaler of US wins 2017 Nobel Economics Prize: All you need to know

He won the prize for his pioneering work to bridge the gap between economics and psychology

US economist Richard Thaler won the 2017 Nobel Economics Prize for his contributions in the field of behavioural economics, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said on Monday.

"In total, Richard Thaler's contributions have built a bridge between the economic and psychological analyses of individual decision-making," the award-giving body said on announcing the 9 million Swedish crown ($1.1 million) prize.

"His empirical findings and theoretical insights have been instrumental in creating the new and rapidly expanding field of behavioural economics, which has had a profound impact on many areas of economic research and policy."(economy today)

"By exploring the consequences of limited rationality, social preferences, and lack of self-control, he has shown how these human traits systematically affect individual decisions as well as market outcomes," the Nobel jury said in a statement.

The economics prize, officially called the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel, was established in 1968. It was not part of the original group of awards set out in dynamite tycoon Nobel's 1895 will.

Who is Richard Thaler

Thaler is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a Fellow of the American Finance Association and the Econometrics Society, and in 2015 served as the President of the American Economic Association.....READ MORE

No firecrackers in Delhi-NCR this Diwali as SC bans sale until Nov 1

The bench said they wanted to see the impact of a cracker-free festivity at least in one Diwali

The Supreme Court on Monday ruled that there will be no sale of firecrackers during Diwali, as it restored a November 2016 order banning the sale of firecrackers and stocking of firecrackers in Delhi and National Capital Region.

A bench headed by Justice A K Sikri, while restoring the order, said: “We should see at least in one Diwali the impact of a cracker-free festivity.”

However, the court said that the September 12, 2017 order lifting the ban on the sale and stocking of firecrackers in Delhi NCR will be back into effect from November 1.