WB, UNDP draw separate anti-poverty roadmaps
The World Bank and United Nation's Development Programme(UNDP) are at loggerheads over the strategy to be pursued for executing poverty-alleviation programmes in Andhra Pradesh. The latter is the first state in the country where both the agencies are involved in such programmes.
Geneva social summit pledges to cut poverty
A United Nations special assembly on poverty reduction ended at the weekend with a pledge to halve the numbers living in extreme poverty by 2015, but few firm commitments on policies for achieving this and other poverty-reduction objectives. Development and labour groups said they were disappointed at the weak outcome …
Debt relief lobby accuses rich nations of breaking pledges
Jubilee 2000, the debt relief campaign, launched a report accusing leaders of industrialised nations of failing to keep their promises. It says only $15bn in relief will be delivered by the end of this year, instead of the $100bn pledged a year ago.
Seeded 128
The 11 th version of the Human Development Report(HDR), for the year 2000, has just been released by United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). In recent years, HDRs have had a thematic focus and this year's focus is on human rights. There are thus two components to HDR2000, the human rights …
A WTO budget?
There is one school of thought which maintains that the Finance Minister, Mr. Yashwant Sinha's 2000-01 Budget has followed the dictates of the World Trade Organisation, the implications being that most of the changes in Customs duties have been effected with an eye on meeting the stipulations of the Uruguay …
India, China sign WTO pact
China kept up the momentum in its drive to enter the World Trade Organisation (WTO) on Tuesday, signing a deal with India and holding a second day of crucial negotiations with the European Union (EU). India and China signed a WTO accession deal as EU negotiators, led by European Commission …
World leaders call for global growth
Several former world leaders condemned the mindless growth in nuclear armaments and the developed nations' apathy towards the need for sustainable development patterns at a meet organised by the Tata Energy Research Institute in the city on Tuesday.
World Bank says partial reforms hit poverty eradication
The World Bank has said that incomplete and partial reforms, particularly in agricultural and labour sectors, have resulted in a slowdown in poverty eradication in poverty eradication in India and warned that it would continue to stagnate unless a second phase of reforms was not taken up immediately. This was …
Poverty declines in India, but still nags BIMARU states
India has witnessed a sharp decline in poverty with the number of people living below the poverty line coming down from 56.44 per cent in 1973-74 to 37.24 per cent in 1993-94, India Rural Development Report 1999 said.However, within India at the regional level, the poverty incidence has increased in …
Opp to back Naidu on Almatti dam
All major political parties of Andhra Pradesh decided to take a united stand on the Almatti dam issue. Chief Minsiter N Chandra Babu Naidu on Thursday convened an all party meeting to discuss the situation arising out of the recent proposal of the Constitution bench of Supreme Court that a …
Residents win 11-year air pollution lawsuit
The Japanese Government is braced for a rash of air pollution lawsuits after residents living near a national expressway won landmark compensation on Monday for illnesses caused by vehicle fumes. The court battle dragged on for 11 years before the first ruling by a judge that the Government had a …
More suspect plants face raids
Thailand's Agriculture Department is keeping a close watch on 58 insecticide and pesticide factories suspected of producing substandard goods following a police raid on an illegal production plant in Samut Prakan. On Monday, Deputy Agriculture Minister Newin Chidchob led a police raid on the Union Biochem Industry (UBI) Co in …
Clear water to flow in downtown Beijing
For the first time in decades, this August people can expect to find lakes and rivers in downtown Beijing cleaned up and sparkling with clear green water. Yan Changyuan, director of the Beijing Municipal Water Conservancy Bureau said on Monday that the clean-up undertaking has been progressing smoothly.
Clinton to press for new trade round
The US President, Mr. Bill Clinton, pledged to keep pushing for an accord with other members of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) for the launch of a new global trade round. In a speech to the World Economic Forum in Davos, he also appealed to developing countries to agree to …
World Economic Forum meeting begins
World business and political leaders kicked of their annual meeting in Davos on the global economic situation with special focus on future of globalisation even as India seeks to project its fresh economic liberalisation measures to woo foreign investors.
Library with net facility to be set up in villages
To sustain the literacy rate which is expected to reach 70 per cent by the end of this year, a rural library-cum-IT centre with Internet access facility is expected to be set up in every village, according to the Union Education Secretary, Mr. M.K. Kaw.
World Bank dissenter sticks to his guns
The outgoing chief economist of the World Bank has not relented from his criticism of the international financial community, which he accuses of excluding poor countries from the decision-making process. The economist, Joseph Stiglitz, also restated his disapproval of Russia's privatization program, saying the system encourages "asset stripping" that has …
