Cop-out
Hopes were pinned on the latest UN climate summit at Lima. It was supposed to prepare the ground for a new climate deal that will replace the …
PMO orders huge cuts in social sector spending for 2015-16
Employment guarantee, rural road and sanitation schemes among those likely to be affected
Tata Mundra power project blamed for falling fish catch
Project yet to become fully functional has already destroyed creeks and mangroves, says report
Kind to Cash
A short stop motion that shows all the schemes that a human being (woman) can avil of in her lifetime.
Stench in my backyard
As Kerala cities dump their waste in the countryside, people in the villages hit back. An unresolved civic problem of decades compounded by …
The gas game
Fluorocarbons, which created a hole in the ozone layer, have generated intense global debates. But these have been more about business than …
Tata Tea under scanner for poor living condition and coercion of workers
World Bank authorises enquiry after investing US $8 million in the global beverages company
On the defensive at Cancun?
Recently Arun Jaitley identified agriculture and investment as the two main issues for next month's World Trade Organization ministerial …
Blow to anti-AIDS campaign as condom turns taboo subject
The paanwallah-doubling-up-as-a-condom-vendor ad has been taken off the air. Instead, Doordarshan will show a village council member warning …
Mountain biodiversity tops Montreal meet agenda
The entire gamut of activities that threaten ecosystems in the mountain regions dominated discussions at the meeting of the scientific advisory …
Where are the panchayats?
Of the three farm water conservation programmes currently under way in Karnataka, the Jal Samvardhene Yojana (jsy) has completed a year of …
Don't need subsidies, give us the right price
For most Indians, Mahendra Singh Tikait is the man who brought Delhi to its knees in 1988 with a rally that brought the national capital face to …
Energy transition is now a must
Marie-Hélène Aubert, adviser to the French president for international negotiations on climate and environment, was recently in New …
Profit from the poor
Fifty-four suicides in Andhra Pradesh have blown the lid off the social posturing by microfinance companies. Before the news of the deaths sank …
Elementary failure
Since the Right To Education Act came into force on April 1, 2010, India has been witnessing an experiment that involves parents in enforcing a …
Treasure in troubled land
International aid has supported the economy of Afghanistan for 12 years. With aid flow gradually declining, the war-torn country will now have to …
Long yarn
The cotton story is a tangled tale. In many parts of India, farmers are committing suicide. It's been a while Andhra Pradesh, Punjab and now …
Non-profit diseases
There is a logic to the idea of neglected diseases. Historically the diseases poor people get--largely in the poorer parts of the world--haven't …
Science under siege
Agricultural science has ossified in India. Despite a vast network of public research institutions and agriculture universities across the country,…
Universal health scare
The country’s planners are debating how to provide healthcare to all. In a drastic shift from the 65-year-old public health system, the …
On foot and pedal
The teeming millions on foot and pedal are powering mobility in Indian cities. Their numbers exceed those who use cars. Yet they are victims of …
Kind to cash
The government has a plan to reach welfare to the poor without wasting money. It wants to put hard cash in their hands instead of spending on …
Sunshine sector loses sheen
About 40 kilometres from Delhi, in the bustling real estate market of Noida-Greater Noida, lies the biggest irony that the renewable energy …
Future compromised
The Earth Summit was a historical opportunity to set the world on the correct development trajectory. Negotiators from 191 countries came …
Lives of others
Wildlife is more of an academic concern except when the charismatic tiger is wiped out from a protected forest or our favourite fish vanishes …