Vanishing 'green'
THE Dangs, one of the few forests in Gujarat that boasts of green cover, is facing imminent danger of annihilation. Massive deforestation due to population pressures and rapid industrialisation are
THE Dangs, one of the few forests in Gujarat that boasts of green cover, is facing imminent danger of annihilation. Massive deforestation due to population pressures and rapid industrialisation are
FELIX murillo, chief of the Peruvian National Statistical Institute, has claimed a reduction of 8 per cent in poverty, as revealed by official surveys of standards of living between 1991 and 1994.
THE Karnataka government seems to have turned a blind eye to the Forest Conservation Act, 1980, while authorising district forest officers to grant leases for quarrying in forest lands across
Aggressively claiming its right over its natural resources post tsunami, Indonesia recently adopted a new law that requires all foreign fishing vessels to give 70 per cent of their catch to the
Recently tonnes of oil slick and oil tar were washed off into the Arabian Sea, polluting half a dozen beaches in Goa. This is the second such incident to have occurred this year in India's top
Trade unionists and environment experts from around the world have agreed that environmental rights such as access to clean water, health care and energy be made part of workers rights.<br><br> The decision was taken during a conference on labour and environment organised by the United Nations Environment Programme in Nairobi from January 15-17, 2006.<br>
Reliance Industries headed by Mukesh Ambani has offered to set up a solar power plant in Haryana at an initial cost of Rs 125 crore. Reliance is already setting up two special economic zones in Gurgaon and Jhajjar districts. In a letter written to Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Ambani expressed his desire to set up 5 MW grid-connected solar photovoltaic power plant in Hisar district or any other suitable location. The company has chosen Hisar because it feels that the area has "one of the best possible solar insolation throughout the year in the state. He said his company would progressively expand the project. Appreciating the efforts being made by the Haryana Renewable Energy Development Agency (HAREDA) to promote solar energy, Ambani said the Reliance would like to support HAREDA initiatives. He said an investment in the solar power plant would also help in generating employment as well as in the development of the region.
Surely car owners who get cheap petrol and rich farmers who get free water and power can't be aam? With the general elections due next year, there are obvious pressures on the finance minister to provide goodies for the aam aadmi. There are calls to abandon, or at least postpone by a few years, the fiscal deficit ceilings prescribed by the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act, so that funds are not a constraint. (If most of us believe that many politicians are corrupt, they reciprocate by believing that the best way to get the vote is by bribing the voter.) Given the concern about the aam aadmi in the bleeding hearts of our political masters, I have often wondered who exactly this aam aadmi is
KOLKATA: The finance minister's farm loan waiver will help 1.10 lakh small tea growers become more competitive. Small growers contribute 25% to the national tea production, which stood at 940 million kg in 2007. The Budget has also abolished cash transaction tax, which was a burden to the tea industry in particular. "Nearly 80% tea estate workers do not have bank accounts and have to be paid in cash. For the tea industry, which is yet to come out of a crisis, this tax was an added burden,' Ambootia group chairman Sanjay Bansal said. There are 3 million direct workers in the country's tea estates. The estates also provide indirect employment to some 1.5 million people. The wage bill of the industry is around Rs 80 crore. The payment to workers are made on weekly, fortnightly or monthly basis.
Demographers say world population will decline and one fifth of it would be above 50 years by 2050
A new bacterium can convert a toxic groundwater pollutant into a harmless hydrocarbon
Now that low income minorities are becoming the target of AIDS, service agencies are redefining their role
WHEN the Delhi Rickshaw Chalak-Malik Sangharsh Morcha (rickshaw drivers and owners agitation committee) staged a demonstration in front of the office of the Municipal corporation of Delhi (MCD) on
Oustees of the Kutku and Auranga dams in Bihar complain media attention is the only way of getting justice from the government, but the media devotes its ink only to big money projects
The number of people emigrating is rising steadily every year. All these movements derive from the failure of societies to meet the fundamental needs and aspirations of their citizens, for safe
Burdened by rising joblessness, US President Bill Clinton wants world leaders to meet to find a solution to the vexing problem
EGS fails the poorest
THE lions are going on a safari to see humans being evicted. At stake is the culture and lifestyle of a community of tribals, primarily forest-gatherers, rich in the knowledge of traditional herbs
When the executive fails, people seek redressal from courts. In some cases, the courts have merely put the seal of approval on the actions of citizens' pressure groups. In others, the remedies have only addressed the problems in part. The earth still bl
Dear Mr Vajpayee, A few months ago you spoke passionately about the need to involve local communities in water management. Releasing the national water policy document, you said harnessing every