Beef production has been the largest driver of deforestation this century. Over the last two decades, around 128 million hectares of forest have been cleared to make way for agriculture and forest plantations. That’s an area five times the size of the United Kingdom. What has driven this deforestation? A recent paper estimated the contribution of different agricultural products over the last few decades. In the chart, you can see the breakdown. Beef production has been the largest driver by far, contributing over 40% of the total. This has mostly been the clearing of forest for grazing pasture, especially across Brazil and other countries in Latin America. Oilseeds — mostly soy and oil palm — were the second-largest driver, again concentrated in Latin America for soy and in Indonesia and Malaysia for palm oil. While deforestation for palm oil was high in the early 2000s and 2010s, it has fallen a lot in recent years. Forest plantations have been a large driver of deforestation in North America and East Asia. Deforestation for most other products — including cereals, roots and tubers, and cash crops like cocoa and coffee — has been concentrated in Africa, where yields have not grown quickly enough to offset rising demand. (written by @_HannahRitchie)

NITI Aayog Frontier Tech Hub launched “DPI@2047: A Strategic Roadmap for Viksit Bharat,” outlining India’s pathway to a USD 750–850 billion technology services sector by 2035, driven by the expanding role of Digital Public Infrastructure. India’s Digital Public Infrastructure, anchored in Aadhaar, UPI, and the JAM Trinity, has redefined service delivery across the country. With UPI processing over 12.5 billion transactions monthly and Direct Benefit Transfer savings exceeding ₹13.48 lakh crore, DPI today contributes nearly 1% to GDP, with projections to reach 4.2% by 2030. The roadmap was unveiled by Shri Suman Bery, Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog, and Prof. Ajay Kumar Sood, Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India, in the presence of Ms. Nidhi Chibber, Chief Executive Officer, NITI Aayog; Dr. V. Anantha Nageswaran, Chief Economic Adviser to the Government of India; Ms. Debjani Ghosh, Distinguished Fellow, NITI Aayog; and Mr. Shankar Maruwada, Chief Executive Officer, EkStep Foundation. The roadmap charts the next phase, DPI 2.0 (2025–2035), signalling a transition from welfare-led delivery to livelihood-driven prosperity. It delineates eight high-impact sectoral transformations, including expanded market access for MSMEs, development of inclusive credit infrastructure for a billion Indians, advancement of decentralised energy systems, and the establishment of universal platforms for health and education. Read the full roadmap here: niti.gov.in/sites/default/fi… @debjani_ghosh_ #PMOIndia #NITIAayog #DPI #ViksitBharat #DigitalIndia #TechServices #PublicPolicy #EconomicGrowth

This article in Millennium Posr is about the wonderful work being done by Kaivalya Foundation in skilling young girls that won them the Nexus of Good Annual Award, 2025. The model they have put in place is replicable. @nexusofgood @MillenniumPost millenniumpost.in/opinion/sk…