The IMF’s April 2025 Regional Economic Outlook for Sub-Saharan Africa presents a clear warning: regional growth is slowing, debt pressures are mounting, and donor assistance is declining. Yet the report outlines critical opportunities particularly in domestic revenue mobilization, structural reform, and private sector activation that can shape a more resilient …
To promote it in rural areas it is essential to cut the hype. Perhaps information technology will not deliver all that it promises even if all infrastructure changes are made. No matter what the experts say, the decision to use it finally rests with the people. All that scientists, governments, …
there is a growing demand for organic cotton in various parts of the world. Grown without the use of synthetic chemical fertilisers and pesticides that conventional cotton cultivation is still dependent upon, organic cotton is gaining wider recognition than ever before. Global production of organic cotton increased from 8,250 tonnes …
Ever since an increasing number of vehicles running on compressed natural gas (cng) started plying on Delhi roads, a strange whisper campaign has been blowing in the air
the Delhi government, in accordance with the Supreme Court (sc) order of December 7, 2000, has sealed more than 1,500 industrial units. But confusion prevails as to how the units have been identified for closure. The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (mcd), the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (dpcc) and the Delhi …
more than 683 people were killed, 2,412 injured and hundreds reported missing when an earthquake hit Guatemala and El Salvador, two central American nations, on January 13, 2001. The highest number of deaths were reported from Santa Tecla, a suburb of San Salvador, the capital city of El Salvador. Following …
Why have you asked for changes in the Forest (Conservation) Act? Actually the entire Forest (Conservation) Act needs to be reviewed with a wider perspective. The overall concept of forest conservation should be given a dynamism so that it changes with the needs of the people. The term forest has …
Participatory democracy is finally coming of age. At least in Madhya Pradesh (mp). A process that began with empowering the tribal people of Jhabua district in 1994 is culminating in Gram Swarajya for every person living in the 70,000-odd villages of mp . To coincide with India's 51st Republic Day, …
While tiger parts, ivory and sandalwood smuggling continue to attract all the public attention, what India is losing is its medicinal wealth to well-organised smuggling networks run by thousands of Veerappans all across the country. Mum's the word on the trade practices, while forests, whether in the north, south, east …
It is a common sight near every forest area to see loaded trucks making their way through the dark cover of the night. The first thought that crosses one’s mind is that they are weighed down with timber. Wrong. Many times, what is being carried out is the herbal treasure …
In April 1999, a director of a reputed environmental organisation in Dehradun was tipped off about 12 trucks waiting at the check-post in Dehradun. They were carrying in various quantities medicinal plants that did not feature in the list of ntfp allowed to be collected in the region comprising Uttaranchal, …
The Indian herbal industry is estimated to have a turnover of Rs 2,300 crore annually. It is also involved in the export of finished products, intermediaries and bulk raw materials. More than 90 per cent of the plant species used by the industry are, however, collected from the wild of …
Considering the shortage of medicinal plants and the need to sustain ism, cultivation and sustainable harvesting of plants from the wild has become absolutely necessary. One way of solving the problem would be to encourage cultivation by small farmers and tribal people and make big manufacturers of herbal products source …
Realising the importance of medicinal plants in the health care system available to the poor people, the department of family welfare of the mohfw started the vanaspati van yojna as part of the reproductive and child health programme in October 1997. In other words, it means converting large areas of …
The rashes and burns on his scaly skin are not due to his advancing years. With red patches on his limbs and torso, this aged man is literally suffering from a two-year itch. His frail body stoops, overburdened not just with age but also the agony caused by his recalcitrant …
Three hours from Madurai is Shenbaha Thopu. Rich in forest wealth, the peripheries of the forests are inhabited by 24 families of the Pallyan community who have traditionally been involved in the collection of non-timber forest produce (ntfp). Now something else has become a part and parcel of their lives: …
The Union government will probably let another budget go by without applying the polluter pays principle to reduce damage to environment. Pay for the damage if you pollute. Pay more if you pollute more. This, in simple terms, is the polluter pays principle. The Indian government chooses to ignore the …
if one finds air pollution on normal days choking, then January 2, 2001 must have been a nightmare. As the northern electricity grid broke down, seven states of north India plunged into darkness. With water supplies cut, telephone lines down and disrupted railway services, generators in all shapes and sizes, …
"In the virtual world, we virtually promise everything but deliver virtually nothing." this caption from one of the cartoons exhibited at the Indian Science Congress 2001 sums up the outcome of the massive jamboree, held in Delhi from January 3 to 7. The prime minister promised food for all, the …
"Children in India remain malnourished while foodgrains rot in our granaries. The key to this is proper management of our granaries.' V Ramalingaswami National Research Professor "There's a big gap between scientific research and application. We have crude facts of science, locked up in laboratories and research institutes, but we …
