Global megatrends such as income inequality, climate change, demographic shifts, technological progress, and urbanisation are shaping the future of societies. Yet, their quantitative impacts on development
In 2007, the world became a predominantly urban society. An estimated three-quarters of economic production now takes place in cities. Urbanization brings with it the possibilities of improved access to
Almost 10 months after the Central government’s flagship scheme Rajiv Awas Yojana (RAY) was launched in Maharashtra, the state government has been able to zero in on merely two projects to be sent to the Centre for approval under the scheme. While the state government was to address the issue of informal settlements in 16 cities in Maharashtra through RAY, the two projects that have come forward are proposals for construction of very insignificant number of houses.
Shahrukh Khan and Vidya Balan will come together, not to promote a commercial venture, but to act as brand ambassadors to fight open defecation, propagate sanitation and appeal to the people to get clean. Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh, who also holds the portfolio of drinking water and sanitation, has broached the idea with the actors, and their response has been positive.
The government has started work on the rules and bylaws of the proposed Food Security Act, even as the Bill is being debated by a standing committee of Parliament. The food ministry has appointed Hyderabad-based Administrative Staff College of India (ASCI) as consultant for the finer points. ASCI will work with ministry officials and analyse the delivery mechanism of the department of food and public distribution, including Food Corporation of India and state governments.
Shillong, April 12: Twenty-first century Meghalaya still faces problems of open defecation, accessibility to sources of lighting and potable water, although the scenario has marginally improved compared
With the number of A-H1N1 (swine flu) cases increasing steadily, the Union Government on Wednesday said there was no cause for panic as the situation was well under control and being monitored. An official in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare denied reports in a section of the media that the virus has mutated and is not curable.
At least 52 glacial lakes in Gilgit and Astore districts have been identified as ‘potentially dangerous’ by a project sponsored by the European Union and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
The work will be taken up under the Centrally-sponsored scheme of Urban Infrastructure Development The Sriperumbudur town panchayat in Kancheepuram district has been chosen as a satellite town under the Centrally-sponsored scheme of Urban Infrastructure Development, according to K. P. Munusamy, Municipal Administration and Rural Development Minister. Moving the demands for grants for his departments in the Assembly on Monday,
Building roads in the rural areas is the job of the state governments, and Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) could not be a long-term solution to the problem of lack of roads, Union rural development minister Jairam Ramesh said here on Sunday. “If the Central government focused on construction of rural roads and their repairs and maintenance, then it will have no money to spend on creating other infrastructure,” the minister said, adding that “we have to recognise its limitations”.
U.N. report says China, India together will account for about third of the increase in urban population in coming decades India will witness the largest increase in urban population in the next four decades followed by China, a United Nations report has said. India will add another 497 million to its urban population between 2010 and 2050, while China will see 341 million people shifting into cities, followed by Nigeria (200 million), the United States (103 million) and Indonesia (92 million), according to the U.N.'s ‘2011 Revision of the World Urbanisation Prospects' report released on Friday.
