India has decided to put a financial value on its forests: Rs115 trillion, or an astounding $1.7 trillion.

This is lower than India’s GDP, pegged at $2.1 trillion, but higher than the GDPs of countries such as Canada, Korea, Mexico or Russia.

The valuation was arrived at by an expert panel that the Indian government set up in 2013. The committee was asked to decide on the net present value (NPV) of forest land in case they had to be diverted for industrial or construction purposes. Full Story

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