clipped from: news.bbc.co.uk   

India has taken the first steps towards developing a national plan on tackling the effects of climate change.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh chaired a meeting of top government officials and environmental experts which agreed to draft a national policy by October.

India and China are among the world's largest polluters and are coming under international pressure to agree to mandatory emission cuts.
A recent report by environmental experts said India would be among the countries worst affected by climate change.
In his opening remarks at the meeting of India's National Council for Climate Change, Mr Singh acknowledged the scale of the problem.

The council will work on a strategy to offset the impact of melting Himalayan glaciers which feed many of the country's rivers and are a major source of water and power.

A tree planting programme will also be launched to replenish 15m acres of degraded forests.

But no mention was made of cutting carbon emissions.