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<ul><li>The quarry exploitation took place at the sand quarries in Karur and Cuddalore districts and was expanded to its neighbouring states. </li><li>When the <keyword id="6356851" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="cag">CAG</keyword> saw the coordinates of the approved area on <keyword id="97416" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Google-maps">Google Maps</keyword>, they realised that the mining was actually being done in a different area. </li><li>The estimated penalty for the act is about ₹5.053 billion. </li></ul>Google Maps has come to the aid of law enforcement in <keyword id="3658" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="India">India</keyword>. The Android maker’s mapping application was used by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG), Rajiv Mehrishi, to expose irregularities in river <keyword id="6361591" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="sand-mining">sand mining</keyword> in the southern state of Chennai. The <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/google-maps-help-cag-find-quarry-exploitation/articleshow/64923954.cms">illegal mining</a> took place at the sand quarries in Karur and Cuddalore districts. A quarry at Neyvasal, Cuddalore was expanded to the neighbouring district Ariyalur district. According to CAG report submitted on Monday (9 July), the State Level Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) had given environmental clearance for about 19 hectares for a quarry at Neyvasal. However, when the CAG saw the latitude and longitudinal coordinates of the approved area on Google Maps, it realised that the mining was actually done in a different area. Only about 4.23 hectares of the actually used land was under the river bed. The rest of the area was private lands. Furthermore, the total volume of sand dug at Neyvasal and Ariyalur district was 1.334 million cubic meter, however, the permitted quantity was 1.9 lakh cubic meter. The estimated penalty for the act amounts to ₹5.053 billion. In the records, the total value of sand seized by the enforcement authorities during 2014-15 to 2016-17 was merely 311,000 hectares and the penalty collected was ₹17.5 million. The sand quarry operations wing of the Public Works Department (PWD), which monitors river sand mining in <keyword id="20154" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="tamil-nadu">Tamil Nadu</keyword>, had found this kind of exploitation at the Neyvasal quarry earlier as well. A joint inspection with the Geology and Mining and revenue departments back in August 2017 had revealed that the depth and areas mined were more than the approved limit.

Indian authorities used Google Maps to expose illegal sand mining activities

<ul><li>While the rescue of the 15 miners stuck in a ‘rat hole’ mine in the eastern state of Meghalaya in India since December 13, 2018, is still underway, two more incidents of <keyword id="6367140" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="illegal-mining">illegal mining</keyword> have come to light. </li><li>Two miners have lost their lives in one of the incidents, while three more are stuck in another ‘rat hole’ mine. </li><li>Government officials in Meghalaya have repeatedly denied any knowledge of illegal mining in the state after the ban implemented in 2014. </li><li>But the chief minister of the state quickly turned on his words after the first incident took place. </li><li>Data shows that administrative oversight is one of the primary reasons this problem was allowed to continue for so long.</li></ul>While the Indian government is still struggling to rescue the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/indian-supreme-court-expresses-dissatisfaction-instructs-government-to-get-the-miners-out-dead-or-alive/articleshow/67257937.cms">15 rat hole miners</a> stuck in the eastern Indian state of Meghalaya, two more incidents of illegal mining in state paint a disturbing picture. The issue is not only about the prevalence of illegal mining but the resultant loss of life due to the risk involved and lax security regulations. The first incident is where two miners <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/2-dead-as-another-meghalaya-mine-collapses-rescue-stumbles-at-older-site-1973517">died</a> as a result of a ‘side cutting’ mine collapsing on top of them. The second is where three miners have been trapped in another ‘rat hole’ mine in the area for nearly nine days <a href="https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/boulders-fall-in-meghalaya-mine-kill-two/article25927321.ece">according</a> to the locals in the area. Questions for politicians Meghalaya has always maintained that the ban imposed by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) in 2014 was effectively implemented. But after the mining incident of December 13, 2018, where 15 miners are still stuck in a ‘rat hole’ mine — their story seems to be changing. Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma has <a href="https://www.telegraphindia.com/states/north-east/dec-report-admits-to-illegal-mining-in-meghalaya/cid/1681055">admitted</a> to knowing about the illegal mining in Meghalaya only after the incident took place. Earlier that year, when there were allegations of illegal mining activity in Meghalaya, he denied all charges. 
 
 <div type="ExtQuote" text="&quot;We are aware that illegal mining activities were on. Appropriate action will be taken against those who are involved in it. This is not acceptable to us.&quot;" auname="Conrad K Sangma, Chief Minister of Meghalaya"></div>




 Reports also show that over the past four years — despite the coal mining ban being in place — over 2,700 trucks have seized containing coal even though only about 1,100 cases were actually registered. Experts <a href="https://www.hindustantimes.com/editorials/meghalaya-rat-hole-mining-tragedy-politicians-have-a-lot-to-answer-for/story-eiALqenJkbeggHDatUsEfM.html">cite</a> the prevalence of mining in Meghalaya to three reasons. One, that these ‘risky’ mining practices are also cheaper than conventional methods lacking the usual safety requirements. Two, there is political support in place. And, three, the local community needs the job opportunity since they are mostly migrants from neighboring states. The fact that the mines are privately owned makes it even harder to keep track of where they are, who owns them or even of their exact number. So rather than illegal mining in Meghalaya being a surprise, it was more of administrative oversight that allowed the phenomenon to continue. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/indian-supreme-court-expresses-dissatisfaction-instructs-government-to-get-the-miners-out-dead-or-alive/articleshow/67257937.cms">Photos that show the efforts to rescue 15 miners trapped in illegal 'rat hole’ mine in India</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/for-74-indian-activists-the-punishment-for-seeking-the-truth-has-been-death/articleshow/63425570.cms">For 74 Indian activists, the punishment for seeking the truth has been death</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/indian-authorities-used-google-maps-to-expose-illegal-sand-mining-activities/articleshow/64945513.cms">Indian authorities used Google Maps to expose illegal sand mining activities</a>

More illegal mining in India — the state of Meghalaya has more questions than answers

<ul><li>The <keyword id="6354977" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Supreme-Court">Supreme Court</keyword> in a verdict blamed disappearance of Aravalli Hills as one of reasons for rising pollution in Delhi. </li><li>31 out of 128 Aravalli hills in <keyword id="6355588" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="rajasthan">Rajasthan</keyword> have disappeared due to <keyword id="6367140" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="illegal-mining">illegal mining</keyword> activities. </li><li>The negligence of the Rajasthan government has led to severe environmental consequences. </li></ul>The Supreme Court have discovered one more reason for deteriorating air quality in New Delhi. The <a href="https://www.financialexpress.com/opinion/shocking-human-activity-is-making-entire-hills-in-the-aravallis-disappear-with-disastrous-long-term-consequences/1360378/">unrestrained mining activities by real estate firms have caused much damage to Aravalli Hills</a> in Rajasthan. In fact, 31 out of 128 hills in the range have already disappeared and the number is only increasing. Rajasthan government has been held responsible for not keeping a check on illegal mining activities being performed in 115.34 hectare area of the range. The court has instructed the state to take immediate steps to restrict these activities within 48 hours. The state government was getting a royalty of ₹5,000 crore against illegal mining activities conducted on the hilly area. Aravalli Hills have been playing a crucial role in balancing the climate of Indus-Ganga plain in Northern India. Many climatic factors like rainfall, and soil conservation are dependent on the old mountain range. Inching sand dunes towards National Capital Region <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/gurgaon/how-shrinking-aravalis-opened-giant-gateway-for-dust-pollution-in-delhi-ncr/articleshow/65816163.cms">Sand dunes are approaching National capital region</a> through the Harchandpur village, Sohna which is merely 20 km from Gurgaon and 60 km, revealed a study by Wildlife Institute of India (WII) in 2017. The Aravallis in Rajasthan and Haryana used keep the velocity of wind in check, but because of the mining activity the wind pattern is getting directed towards the plateau and that contains a lot of sand and dust. Limited seasonal rain Earlier, the hills accelerate seasonal rainfall in the nearby areas. The degradation in hills along with changing land patterns and weather exploitation has decreased the amount of seasonal rainfall to minimal. As a consequence, the mining activities are transforming land in barren desserts. Decline in number of rainy days To much surprise, the damage is not only accelerating the pollution level but it is also decreasing the number of rainy days from 60 to 80 days to 18-30 days which is constantly affecting monsoon patterns in North India.

Here’s how the vanishing Aravalli hills in Rajasthan are affecting air quality in Delhi

If you're planning a beach vacation, you'd better get to it soon. An alarming statistic for you: 67% of Southern California beaches? GONE by 2100. All because of sand. Even if you don't think about the grainy stuff, you use it daily. You're reading this off something made with sand, looking at it through a screen made with sand, surrounded by buildings made with concrete. I could let you guess what's in concrete, but I suspect you're already catching onto a theme here. The following is a transcript of the video.I'll try to make this quick since we don't have a lot of time. The world is running out of sand.Crazy right? We literally have tons of it on beaches, deserts, and under the ocean, but we're using it up faster than the planet can make it.We use sand way more than you'd expect. Worldwide, we go through 50 billion tons of sand every year. That is twice the amount produced by every river in the world.After air and water, sand is our most used natural resource. We use it even more than oil.It's used to make food, wine, toothpaste, glass, computer chips, breast implants, cosmetics, paper, paint, plastics.So where does it all come from? Well, let's ask Vince Beiser! He wrote a book on the subject, called <a href="https://www.amazon.com/World-Grain-Story-Transformed-Civilization/dp/0399576428/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&amp;qid=&amp;sr=">The World in a Grain</a>.Vince Beiser: "So the sand that we use, is what you call 'marine sand.' It's the sand that you find at the bottom of rivers, and on beaches and at the bottom of lakes and oceans." I know what you're thinking, and no, we can't use sand from the desert. Wind erosion makes the grains too round for most purposes. We need angular sand that interlocks like pieces to a puzzle. Like the sand generated from mountain rocks, pelted by rain, wind, and rivers for over 25 thousand years.The major player for sand usage is concrete. Okay, just to clarify: cement is the lime and clay based glue that holds everything together, and concrete is the finished product that you walk on, drive on, and live inside.Concrete is made of 10% cement (lime and Clay) 15% water and -yup: 75% sand. The concrete required to build a house takes on average 200 tons of sand, a hospital uses 3,000 tons, and a mile of a highway requires 15,000 tons.It makes sense that the world makes over 4 billion tons of concrete annually. We need more every year. The number and size of our cities is exploding, especially in the developing world.This change is most noticeable in China, now home to the largest urban area in the world, the Pearl River Delta. Between 42 and 60 million people call the delta home. China now has 102 cities with a population of over a million. Europe has 38. For all those new cities, they need a lot of concrete.Between 2011 and 2013, China used more concrete than the US did in the entire 20th century. Again: in Three years, China built the equivalent to every highway, road bridge in the US. And the Hoover DamSo it's not outrageous to hear that China also outpaces the world in cement production. By a LOT: 2500 metric tons a year.All that cement is going to need a lot of sand to make concrete. Most of it comes from dredging Poyang Lake. An estimated 236 cubic metes of sand are taken from it every year, making it the largest single sand mine in the world.But concrete isn't the only use for sand. China is also using tons of sand to build up islands in the South China Sea, expanding its foothold in the region.And China's not the only nation building islands from nothing. You've seen these before. The Palm Islands and The World were major island building projects in Dubai, and required 186.5 million meters of sand. This depleted the sea floor around the United Arab Emirates, leaving importing sand from Australia as the only option when constructing the world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa.It's no surprise then that the sand extraction is a $70 billion industry.Vince Beiser: "The easiest, cheapest and best quality sand actually comes from riverbeds. It's very easy to get, you just send a boat out into the middle of a river, with a big suction pump on it. Its basically like a big straw that you drop down to the bottom of the river, suck all that sand up off the bottom."Problem Solved? Nope! The ocean floor isn't miles of sand deep. It's a thin layer over rock, and that layer is home to microorganisms, which feed the base of the food chain. Collecting that sand disrupts fishing in the area and the landscape on shore. When removing sand from the seabed, the shore above water slides into the valley to even itself out. This still leaves shore communities open to flooding and erosion.Vince Beiser: "The recent floods in Houston were actually made worse by sand mining in the San Jacinto River. The San Jacinto is one of the rivers that borders Houston. It's also an excellent source of sand. It has been mined very heavily for sand for the past ten, twenty years." Up to 90% of the world's beaches have shrunk an average of 40 meters since 2008. If you haven't noticed a change in your favorite beach, you're not alone. Popular shores replenish their dying beaches with even more sand, imported from elsewhere. And if we keep it up: Almost 70% of Southern California's spectacular beaches could be completely eroded by 2100.Governments worldwide have begun to regulate and restrict sand mining and concrete production. Now Problem solved, right? Actually, It's caused an entirely new problem: The Black Market of Sand Illegal sand mining has lead to the rise of the Sand Mafia, India's strongest criminal organization.This interconnected group of businessmen, drivers and criminals use their influence, and if that fails, violence and murder to keep the sand flowing illegal sand generates $2.3 billion a year, employing 75,000 of India's impoverished to dive for sand in rivers. Divers work 12-hour days, diving up to 200 times and making only $15 a boatload. Many suffer from bleeding ears and headaches. Deaths and drownings go unreported.Worldwide, illegal sand mining has destroyed entire islands. Two dozen Indonesian islands have disappeared around the same time Singapore imported 17 million tons for it's massive 50-mile land expansion. It wasn't until 2010 that dozens of Malaysian officials were charged with accepting bribes and sexual favors for importing the illegal sand.Vince Beiser: "The first thing that we're going to see in this country, the sort-of canary in the coal mine, that will really let us know that things are starting to get bad, is prices. I believe this is one of the reasons that housing prices have gone up so much, in pretty much all of America's big cities, because the price of sand has about quintupled in the past 30-40 years. And that's one of the critical inputs whenever you're building a house, of course, is sand for the concrete."We do have some alternatives. While crushing rocks and recycled concrete is expensive, it can be used to create concrete-quality sand. Glass bottles can be ground to make 'recycled glass sand' to replenish beaches. Yes, it's totally safe, and no, it won't cut you.Finally, UN Environmental Program suggests better pricing and taxing on sand mining to encourage these alternatives. They also recommend an immediate need for creating regulations in all countries, as well as international waters.Vince Beiser: "The questions isn't 'how can we use less sand?', it's 'How can we use less everything?' Trees, water, fish, we're overusing all of those things, and sand is just another thing we should be adding to the list. Well, we're on track to be a planet of at least 9 billion people in the next 20 years. Most of them are going to want to consume resources the way we do in the Western world, and that is just physically impossible."If we want to enjoy these things, while still enjoying this thing, we need to protect this thing, before we run out of time.

The world is running out of sand - and there's a black market for it now

Hyderabad-based businessman <keyword id="15211274" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="boinpally-abhishek-rao" source="Orion">Boinpally Abhishek Rao</keyword>, who has been arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (<keyword id="6354572" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="cbi" source="Orion">CBI</keyword>) in <keyword id="14762568" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Delhi-excise-policy-scam" source="Orion">Delhi excise policy scam</keyword> allegedly involving the national capital's Deputy Chief Minister <keyword id="6354681" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="manish-sisodia" source="Orion">Manish Sisodia</keyword>, is associated with several companies. He is a director of Anoos Electrolysis &amp; Obesity Pvt Ltd, Anoos Health &amp; Wellness Pvt Ltd, Robin Distribution LLP, Agasti Ventures, SS Mines &amp; Minerals, Master Sand LLP, Neoverse Realty Pvt Ltd, Zeus Networking Pvt Ltd and Valuecare Esthetics Pvt Ltd. Considered close to a key leader of the ruling party in Telangana, he is the first person from <keyword id="6354552" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="hyderabad" source="Orion">Hyderabad</keyword> to be arrested in the case. Rao was allegedly found to be acting as a south lobby. The investigating agency suspects that he committed irregularities through cartelization. Rao is the second person to be arrested in the excise policy. The CBI had earlier arrested Vijay Nair, former CEO of events company- Only Much Louder. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has also arrested liquor trader Sameer Mahendru of Indo Spirit. He is said to have business links with Arun Ramachandra Pillai, a resident of Hyderabad and one of the persons booked by the CBI in the case. Rao's arrest came after several rounds of raids conducted by the CBI and ED at various places in Hyderabad, including in the office of a media house. He was also reportedly questioned by the CBI a couple of times in the case. According to the CBI investigation, Arun used to collect money from Sameer Mahendru for onward transmission to the accused public servants through Vijay Naidu. The liquor license holders allegedly issued bills to retail vendors to divert funds to public servants involved in irregularities. This is where some companies from Hyderabad are believed to have helped in illegal transactions. Further questioning of the CBI is likely to unearth the role of some other suspects in the case. Six to seven to eight businessmen and a couple of politicians and officials from Telugu states are believed to be involved in the case. The officials hailing from Telugu states are said to be holding key positions in the Delhi government. The Hyderabad-based businessmen were reported having colluded with politicians and officials in the Delhi government to influence the liquor policy of that state to derive monetary benefits from it. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/finance/banks/news/beware-of-bouncing-cheques-harsher-punishments-may-be-afoot/articleshow/94757668.cms">Beware of bouncing cheques, harsher punishments may be afoot</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/livspace-earmarks-100-mn-to-invest-in-d2c-brands-in-home-segment/articleshow/94755762.cms">Livspace earmarks $100 mn to invest in D2C brands in home segment</a>

Who is Boinpalli Abhishek Rao arrested in Delhi excise policy scam?

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Cabinet on Friday approved an electric vehicle (EV) policy that aims at promoting such automobile manufacturing and the adoption of pollution-free transport. Odisha <keyword id="6248507" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="electric-vehicle-policy" source="Orion">Electric Vehicle Policy</keyword>, 2021 got the go-ahead during the meeting chaired by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. "The objective of the policy is to achieve adoption of 20 per cent electric vehicles of all automobile registrations by 2025 and to promote manufacturing of such vehicles and its components, including battery, in the state. This also aims at facilitating innovation, research &amp; development," Chief Secretary SC Mahapatra said. He stated that it is now necessary to reduce vehicular pollution and carbon emission. "It is high time to reduce the emission by curbing the use of vehicles that consume fossil fuel and accelerating the pace of adoption of electric vehicles," he said. Various incentives will be available for industries for manufacturing electric vehicles and for individuals for purchase, another official said, adding that interest subvention in loans, waiving of road tax and registration fees were also proposed. Incentives under the startup policy of the MSME Department will also be extended for making pollution-free vehicles. As per the policy, a 15 per cent subsidy for buying electric motorcycles, three-wheelers and four-wheelers will be provided with a maximum amount of ₹5,000, ₹12,000 and ₹1,00,000, respectively. The Cabinet also approved the Odisha Sand Policy, 2021 which will ensure sustainable mining of it in the state. The policy has been framed considering the demand-supply situation, identification of sources, mining plan, environment and other statutory clearances, Mohapatra said. "It is in accordance with the environmental regulations and to ensure adequate supply of sand for development and welfare projects," he said. This will help prevent illegal mining of sand and make sure a robust monitoring mechanism with the IT-enabled regulations. The Cabinet also cleared several proposals pertaining to various departments ranging from social security and empowerment of persons with disabilities, water resources, commerce and transport to fisheries, revenue and disaster management. It approved a tender worth Rs199.60 crore for the construction of a wall at the Kanpur irrigation project site in Keonjhar district. The work would be completed in 11 months, he added.

Odisha government will promote electric vehicle manufacturing under its latest policy

<ul><li><keyword id="97416" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Google-maps">Google Maps</keyword>’ newest feature for the app in India is an alert for upcoming speed traps. </li><li>India, being the seventh largest country in the world, doesn’t have a full-proof camera system yet. </li><li>The feature could potentially be misused as drivers would only slow down for the cameras before picking up speed again. </li></ul>Update: Google Maps is also rolling out a feature that allows users to report accidents and upcoming speed traps. Google’s ambitious plans now include <a href="https://mashable.com/article/google-maps-speed-limits-speed-traps/#tN8ZHlPXBsqH">integrating alerts</a> for speed limits and speed cameras onto its Google Maps app. In India, the speed the limit option won’t be available. But, drivers will still be alerted to speed traps and speed cameras on their route. This is happening in a country where traffic violations are considered as some of the worst in the entire world. The installation of speeding cameras is one of the <a href="https://www.financialexpress.com/auto/car-news/finally-indian-roads-getting-safer-top-reasons-for-this-change/1416914/">primary ways</a> that the government is trying to deter the incidence of speeding on the roads. So far, technology has empowered the move to make roads safer in India. But the new Google Maps feature could potentially give speeding driver a way to skirt the law. To speed or not to speed As you’re driving down the road, if your phone suddenly bleeps, is because Google Maps is alerting you to an upcoming speed camera. This feature has been in the works over five years now. User have been wondering if Google was going to do it at all since it acquired Waze, a crowdsource-powered navigation app, back in 2013 for $1 billion. It was only late last year that Google integrated the option for users to report a speed trap to the app. Technology-wise it’s a great move — but in India, where over 50,000 challans (fines) were <a href="https://www.hindustantimes.com/noida/in-two-months-50-000-caught-speeding-on-yamuna-expressway/story-ocrMN82olCzY8R379Irw2L.html">issued</a> over the span of two months to drivers on just one stretch of the highway, there are a few concerns that come to mind. Since the rollout of speed cameras, the cops better understand the ground-reality. Rather than ‘riding without a helmet’ <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/noida/cameras-spur-huge-jump-in-noida-traffic-fines/articleshow/66889295.cms">topping</a> the list of violations in India, it’s speeding. Some might argue that being aware of speed cameras could actually bring down the overall incidences of speeding. But, in India, speed cameras aren’t a universal phenomenon and are sparsely located, or only where a large set of accidents have been reported. Chances are the drivers will only slow down for the camera before picking up speed again. The new feature hasn’t rolled out yet, but should be reflected in the Google Maps app soon. You won’t even need to physically update the app because the roll out will happen via a server-side switch. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/indian-authorities-used-google-maps-to-expose-illegal-sand-mining-activities/articleshow/64945513.cms">Indian authorities used Google Maps to expose illegal sand mining activities</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/a-little-known-feature-in-google-maps-lets-you-explore-our-local-solar-system-heres-how-to-visit-mercury-venus-and-other-planets-and-moons-in-google-maps/articleshow/64262199.cms">A little-known feature in Google Maps lets you explore our local solar system - here's how to visit Mercury, Venus, and other planets and moons in Google Maps</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/From-hiding-their-mansions-on-Google-Maps-to-building-500000-panic-rooms-rich-people-are-sparing-no-expense-to-keep-their-lives-private-and-secure/articleshow/66681557.cms">From hiding their mansions on Google Maps to building $500,000 panic rooms, rich people are sparing no expense to keep their lives private and secure</a>

Google Maps will now alert you to speed traps as you drive — but its chances of success are limited

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">Getty ImagesAlan Patricof, the founder of Greycroft.</div></div></div><ul class="summary-list"><li>The Sand Hill Road set is cautiously opening their doors to the booming <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/latest-cannabis-business-news-2019-6">cannabis industry</a> by investing in cannabis-related technology, but they aren't touching pure marijuana brands yet. </li><li>A venture firm's relationship with its investors, known as limited partners, often holds them back from making marijuana investments. </li><li>Institutional VCs have been reticent regarding <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/latest-cannabis-business-news-2019-6">cannabis</a> because LPs often have "vice clauses" banning investing in firearms, gambling, tobacco, and alcohol. </li><li><a href="http://newsletter.businessinsider.com/join/cultivated">Sign up for Cultivated, our new cannabis newsletter.</a></li></ul>When Luke Anderson and Jake Bullock were trying to raise money for their <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cannabis-infused-beverage-startup-cann-seed-round-pitch-deck-2019-6">THC-infused beverage startup, Cann</a>, they found it easy to land meetings with top VCs but hard to get checks signed."We were spending lots of time educating VCs about the cannabis world," said Anderson, but none would commit any capital as THC is federally illegal in the US. Still, many of the VCs they met with were impressed with the founders and told them to reach out to angel investors who would be able to invest. Some of those meetings even led to VC partners <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cannabis-infused-beverage-startup-cann-seed-round-pitch-deck-2019-6">investing their own money in Cann's $1.5 million seed round</a> outside of their funds, including Rob Stavis of the $5 billion Bessemer Venture Partners, as well as partners at The Capital Group, and Viking Global Investors.Those types of angel investors - partners at VC funds who may look at cannabis deals but are unable to commit their fund's capital - are "a lot of what's propping up the industry right now," Bullock, one of Cann's founders, said.Read more: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cannabis-investors-reveal-what-trends-theyre-chasing-this-year-2019-4">Top cannabis investors reveal where they're placing bets, but say there's 'pain to come' in the crowded CBD space</a>But that may be changing, particularly as VC funds grow more comfortable with cannabis-adjacent investments. After long being frozen out of the burgeoning <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/latest-cannabis-business-news-2019-6">industry</a>, the world's largest venture capital funds are slowly testing the waters with smaller deals to capture a piece of what some <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/rbc-capital-markets-will-start-doing-marijuana-deals-head-says-2018-12">Wall Street analysts say could be a $194 billion global industry</a> in the next decade. Even though they often have restrictions that smaller investors don't, venture capital firms already have poured close to $1.6 billion into cannabis industry startups as of July 19, up from under $1.2 billion in all of 2018, according to the data provider PitchBook. That's up from just $16 million in 2013, as Colorado became the first state to open its doors to the commercial cannabis industry.Most institutional VCs still draw a hard line between cannabis tech companies, like software platforms for dispensaries, and branded products that "touch the plant" - or sell and distribute THC - venture investors told Business Insider. CBD startups, however, are quickly becoming seen as fair game as the Food and Drug Administration works to develop rules around the newly-legal industry. The Sand Hill Road set's reluctance to invest in cannabis brands stems from the investors in the firms, known as limited partners (LPs), according to venture capitalists, cannabis entrepreneurs, and lawyers Business Insider spoke to for this story.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">Shayanne Gal/Business Insider</div></div></div><h2>Limited partners, vice clauses, and the cannabis problem </h2>Limited partners in big VC funds are often institutions like pensions, endowments, or sovereign wealth funds. They manage billions of dollars and are bound by strict rules around where they can put their money and how those funds are accounted for.They're the type of investors who are unwilling to take risks on a brand-new industry in a muddy legal climate. These LPs often include what are known as "vice clauses" in their agreements with venture funds that prevent the funds from investing in industries like alcohol, tobacco, firearms, and gambling.While these "vice clauses" don't always include cannabis startups in the written documents outright, the prohibition is implied, Alan Patricof, the founder of Greycroft Partners, told Business Insider in an interview.LPs are mostly skittish about companies that actually cultivate and distribute products containing THC since it is a federally controlled substance, Patricof said. But they are slowly getting more comfortable with consumer CBD startups - the substance can be derived from hemp, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/farm-bill-legalizes-hemp-boom-marijuana-cbd-industry-2018-12">which was legalized federally last year</a> - as well as ancillary tech and marketing companies that don't touch the plant at all.Read more: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cbd-companies-getting-creative-to-skirt-facebooks-cannabis-ad-ban-2019-7">CBD and hemp startups are using creative loopholes to skirt Facebook's ad ban. Here's how they're doing it.</a>"I've always been a person who likes to deal with the picks and shovels of a new industry," said Patricof, who has some 50 years of venture capital experience. "If I had been around in the gold mining days, I probably would have been selling picks and shovels."According to Patricof, most of the cannabis-related deals that have crossed Greycroft's radar, while interesting, didn't fit the firm's model - looking for the next billion-dollar "unicorn."If he really "pushed hard enough" Patricof said he could get exclusions from his LP agreements to do a cannabis deal, "but we haven't done that yet because of the extreme valuations."Indeed, getting in on the ground floor of the next big thing could be getting trickier as overall interest ticks up and valuations soar. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/marijuana-vape-startup-pax-labs-will-ipo-in-2019-ceo-says-2019-1">Vape startup Pax</a>, for example, closed a $420 million fundraising round which valued the company at $1.7 billion in April.Pax landed funding from Tiger Global Management's venture capital side, and Tiger has also invested in a number of cannabis tech startups, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/green-bits-cannabis-tech-tiger-global-2018-4">including </a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/green-bits-cannabis-tech-tiger-global-2018-4">Green Bits</a>, a compliance software startup for marijuana dispensaries.DCM Ventures, a $4 billion Silicon Valley firm, invested in pot delivery startup Eaze's $65 million Series C round last November, and held a CannaTech conference in May. But Greycroft isn't ruling anything out when it comes to cannabis. "We've seen that in many industries where reality hits, and you get another bite of the apple," Patricof said.And Greycroft has already gone the CBD route - it invested in a $3.3 million seed round for Prima, a CBD startup <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/greycroft-invests-in-cbd-startup-from-honest-company-cofounder-2019-2">started by the founder of Honest Company</a>, in February.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">Shayanne Gal/Business Insider</div></div></div><h2>'If a VC is doing less well, then they need to not piss off their LPs'</h2>While institutional VCs slowly get acquainted with the industry, a number of sector-specific players like <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/altitude-investment-management-raising-100-million-for-cannabis-fund-2019-2">Altitude Investment Management</a> and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tuatara-capital-targeting-375-million-for-dedicated-marijuana-fund-2019-2">Tuatara Capital Partners</a> have raised hundreds of millions from a mix of private investors and family offices - who are freer to invest in cannabis than institutions - to chase after cannabis deals. Smaller, early-stage VC funds, like New York City-based Tusk Ventures and Lerer Hippeau, are getting in on the action as well. Tusk Ventures participated in the pot delivery startup Eaze's Series B back in 2016, and touts its work in the cannabis industry on its website."The reason why we're able to do it, is because we are a smaller fund and we don't have pension funds as investors," Bradley Tusk, the firm's founder, told Business Insider in an interview in February. But Tusk said that it's also about leverage. When a VC is performing well, the fund's LPs are probably going to be more willing to accommodate cannabis deals."If a VC is doing less well, then they need to not piss off their LPs at all costs," Tusk said. "Which means they're not going to say, can we please have permission to bend the rules on this?"To Andrea Hippeau, a principal at the early-stage fund Lerer Hippeau, getting in on the ground floor of the cannabis industry was too good of an opportunity to pass up."I think we've had a real advantage being one of the first institutional VC firms that have gotten involved in cannabis," Hippeau said. "We really saw a once-in-a-decade or more opportunity where a whole new billion-dollar-plus market was being created."Read more: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/greycroft-invests-in-cbd-startup-from-honest-company-cofounder-2019-2?r=cbd-lp">A top venture investor that's backed companies like Bird and TheRealReal explains why CBD is primed to explode</a>Lerer Hippeau has <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/leaflink-raised-17-million-in-series-a-to-expand-cannabis-tech-2017-11">so far invested in LeafLink</a>, a tech platform for cannabis dispensaries, and Herb, a cannabis media company.What separates Lerer Hippeau from other early-stage venture capital funds, according to Hippeau, is that her fund's LP agreements don't contain any vice clauses - by design - so they aren't excluded from cannabis deals. Hippeau, for her part, had to make sure her LPs were comfortable with even cannabis-adjacent deals."Before we started investing in cannabis, even in ancillary tech, we gave a heads up to our LPs and made sure that there were not any kind of major objections because those relationships are obviously very important to us," said Hippeau.She said they had to have follow-up conversations with the fund's investors to make sure they were comfortable with the investments and to specify that they were investing in cannabis tech, and not the plant directly.While Lerer Hippeau has so far shied away from "plant-touching" investments, Hippeau said those are coming when they raise their next fund, now that their investors have gotten more comfortable with the complex regulations around the industry."When we raise our next fund, there will be a stipulation in there that we will be planning on investing directly into cannabis companies so that there won't be any gray area there," said Hippeau. And she thinks that will soon extend across the VC world."I do think as you see new funds going out to raise, you'll see them writing carve-outs for cannabis into the documents," Hippeau said.<ul class="read-more-links"><li>Read more:</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/where-marijuana-vcs-are-looking-to-write-checks-this-year-2019-1" data-read-more-link="" data-e2e-name="read-more-link">Biotech, CBD drinks, and a hot vape company: Here's where all the top marijuana VCs are looking to write checks this year</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-invest-in-marijuana-advice-from-cannabis-venture-capitalists-2018-10" data-read-more-link="" data-e2e-name="read-more-link">Top cannabis VCs give their best advice on how to invest in the booming marijuana industry</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/top-marijuana-vc-firms-by-deal-count-2018-10?r=teaser" data-read-more-link="" data-e2e-name="read-more-link">The top 12 venture-capital firms making deals in the booming cannabis industry that's set to skyrocket to $75 billion</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/study-cbd-products-are-mislabeled-and-contain-dangerous-chemicals-2019-4" data-read-more-link="" data-e2e-name="read-more-link">A California company tested 20 popular CBD products and found 'insanely high levels' of dangerous chemicals and misleading labels</a></li></ul> <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/after-bumped-off-flight-heres-what-need-know-legally-department-transportation-fly-airplane-airline-2017-4">Here's what airlines legally owe you if you're bumped off a flight</a></h3> <div> </div> </div>

Top VC firms know they can't ignore cannabis forever. Here's how they're making their first investments.

<a title_source="BBC" title_caption="" class="zoomin" href="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/54934468dd08959f018b4677-960/screen%20shot%202014-12-18%20at%209.13.05%20pm.png"></a>BBCThe BBC's Panorama show has aired a documentary about Apple that claims work inside its Chinese iPhone factories is so gruelling that workers fall asleep on the factory line.
It also claims that Apple sources the tin for its iPhones from mud pits in Indonesia where children work, risking frequent mudslides that frequently claim lives.
The BBC sent three teams of undercover workers into various Chinese factories and raw materials suppliers to get its video footage. It's not clear which specific factories the BBC entered.
Ralph Nader is quoted in the documentary as saying "the conditions of work are totally physically intolerable."
Fourteen workers killed themselves at Apple's Foxconn factory, the BBC reports.
We asked Apple for comment. We'll update this post when we hear back.
The documentary covers a lot of news that has previously been aired about Apple's factories - video and footage have aired from inside the Pegatron and Foxconn factories before. China Labour Watch, a workers rights organisation, is one of the sources in the report. CLW is a longtime critic of work at Apple's outsourced factories.
But the BBC has gone a step further by following the Apple parts supply chain back to the source, where the BBC found children digging for tin in mud pits in Banka, Indonesia. They are at constant risk of being buried in landslides as the walls of the makeshift opencast mines are hosed in order to sheath off more mud and expose more tin ore for iPhone parts.
The programme also showed dredgers raking up the sand and coral from the seabed in Indonesia to get tin, churning the formally pristine ocean and coral reefs into a sea of mud. The coral doesn't grow back, a marine scientist on the show says.
This post is being written live. Please refresh for updates.
There is plenty of footage of exhausted workers falling sleep at their posts in the factory:

The BBC says the factory has faked an audit trail of the paperwork so it will look as if all the workers agreed to work nights.

This factory worker is warning a colleague not to fall asleep in case he slumps into a machine and electrocutes himself.

The BBC also found:
<ul>
<li>12 people living in each factory dorm room when the rules call for only eight to a room.</li>
<li>Bullying from factory managers.</li>
<li>Workers falling asleep standing up because they're all on 12 hour shifts.</li>
<li>Workers too exhausted to eat.</li>
<li>One worker complaining he was so exhausted from making iPhones that he would fall asleep before reaching the bathroom at the end of the day.</li>
<li>The BBC went to Apple's Cupertino, California, HQ believing it had an appointment with "Apple's top people" but when they arrived Apple declined to speak to them on the record.</li>
<li>Apple's suppliers have illegal man made islands in Indonesia consisting of dozens of boats lashed together that rake up muddy tin ore from the seabed.</li>
<li>Also in Indonesia, the BBC found children working in mud pits where there are frequent landslides.</li>
<li>The documentary showed the dead bodies of tin miners, laid out in a morgue, who had been caught in landslides and buried alive. Their bones are broken and their mouths fill with sand.</li>
<li>Apple gets its tin from middle-men suppliers. It's not completely clear whether Apple's tin is a mixture of tin supplied by illegal sea and mud miners in Indonesia.</li>
</ul>

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