Forest Survey Report 2021: India’s forest cover has increased by 1,540 sq km in two years, mostly due to plantation and agroforestry; 11 states have lost forest cover; 21 have lost good forests; Moderately dense forests declined between 2021 and 2019; Every northeastern state reports loss in forest cover; Overall decadal decline in forest cover in India’s 52 tiger reserves

Anti-terror case falls apart: Case of draconian UAPA law against ex journalist Prashant Rahi falls apart; acquitted after 14 years; Police could produce no evidence; the law has been misused by the state against critics

India’s shrinking female workforce: National average monthly employment for women in 2021 was 6.4 percent lower than 2019; 22.1 percent fewer women employed in urban India in 2021 compared to 2019

Rape accused bishop acquitted: Franco Mulakkal, the Jalandhar diocese bishop, has been acquitted of the rape charges against him, filed by a nun from Kerala; Despite the threats and slander levelled against her and her supporter group ever since she took Franco to the court, the nun stood by her charges

A future shuttling star emerges: Gujarat shuttler Tasnim Mir, trained in Hyderabad, now under-19 world No. 1