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 …
this is yet another story about the slip between the cup and the lip. And the ultimate sufferers in this case are the residents of Delhi, who are left choking with polluted air and a hazy future. It all started in 1998, when the Environment Pollution Prevention and Control Authority …
the environment ministry has been severely criticised by the Comptroller and Auditor General ( cag ) of India for its "unrealistic budgetary assumptions and slackness in implementing schemes.' According to the latest cag report submitted to the Parliament, since 1996 the ministry "ended persistently' with unspent provisions. The reasons for …
two separate incidents have recently shown the sorry state of governance in India. One happened in Almora, Uttar Pradesh, while the other occurred in Gujarat. Both are states ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party ( bjp ). Although on two different planks, both the events throw light on the intolerant …
it was a meeting with an amazing lesson. The subject was rainwater harvesting. But the message was one on governance. And a truly stark one. If only India could learn from it. Since the release of its book Dying Wisdom: The Rise, Fall and Potential of Traditional Rainwater Harvesting Systems …
The fatuous Indian elite must also be the most crooked elite in the world. When it comes to linking trade with environment on issues that affect the marauding rich industrialists of the country, you will hear everyone, from the prime minister downwards to the ministers of commerce and finance, shouting …
Japan's high population density of 335 people per square km is eight times the world average of 40. With very limited land available, the country's options for disposing sewage and waste are limited. Yet the Japanese have set about the task in a typically efficient manner. The country treats all …
officials and activists from government and non-government organisations ( ngo s) engaged in heated debate at a seminar held recently in Delhi on solid waste management in the city. Organised by the Institute of Social Sciences ( iss ), the meeting was attended by representatives from the Municipal Corporation of …
While examining the Seventh Progress Report of the Environ-ment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority, the Supreme Court directed the ministry of petroleum and natural gas (MPNG) to supply petrol with 0.05 per cent sulphur by May 31, 2000 and with one per cent benzene by October 1, 2000 to the …
it's now official. Cherrapunji, which holds the record for the highest rainfall in the world, faces water shortage. In a written reply to the Rajya Sabha, the minister of state for agriculture Satyanarayana Rao said the water supply in Cherrapunji was
Is there a comprehensive wetland management policy in India? There is neither a policy nor a plan for wetland management in India. Ad-hocism prevails without understanding the science or the system. There have been plans to make a draft policy and submit it to the government for consideration, but I …
Once again we have a new minister and once again we have pious statements. For the first time, however a minister has admitted that 350 million people in India are dependent upon the forest for their livelihood. While all this is fine and a lot of the right words have …
sixty million households or some 320 million Indians live below the so-called poverty line. In Andhra Pradesh ( ap ) alone, 16 per cent or one in every six persons come from a family unable to afford two square meals a day. For these people, the much-maligned goat is a …
During one of the meetings of the World Water Commission, which recently submitted its report in The Hague to a bevy of water ministers, a member had strongly emphasised the need for educating politicians about the importance of water. I, however, found that argument incorrect because I have rarely met …
as the largescale destruction of forests continue, there are small pockets of trees all over the country that are still holding out against the mindless deforestation. Sacred groves - small patches of forests which contain a temple and a deity. The copses formed an integral part of the traditional lifestyle …
Pakistan's minister for environment, local government and rural development, Omar Asghar Khan has set up three committees to develop a long-term vision on environment. The committees will also address a priority programme for clean air, clean water, disposal of solid wastes, development and promotion of resources, including solar energy, forestry …
in a recently conclude three-day seminar on India's Forests Beyond 2000 held in New Delhi, minister of environment and forests Thiru T R Balu pointed out: India and other Commonwealth countries need to critically analyse the evolution of forest policies, their management and institutional regimes.' He further said that the …
