This paper presents a status report of the BRICS nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) on two crucial development parameters—inequality and poverty—that have a significant bearing on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs; especially SDG-1 and SDG-10). The paper tracks the origins and movements of absolute and relative poverty, …
Japan's top three carmakers produced a record number of vehicles globally last month, highlighting the resilience of the Japanese car industry in the face of a higher yen, soaring oil prices and slowing economic activity in key markets. Toyota said January production for the group, which includes Daihatsu, the mini-vehicle …
The Arctic reflects what ails a world gripped by global warming. As the ice melts and nations vie for rich mineral resources once hidden under the snow, the writing on the wall is often ignored, says Fatima Chowdhury Thousands of miles away in the Arctic region, fate stands delicately balanced …
In initialling an agreement on cooperation in setting up additional nuclear power plants, India and Russia got around a glitch that had affected the long-standing relationship. The two countries can now start drafting commercial contracts, and perhaps even undertake some preparatory work, for constructing two additional reactors at Koodankulam. However, …
Support for India's search for N-energy THE smooth finalisation of the India-Russia agreement for cooperation in building nuclear power plants at Kudankulam in Tamil Nadu is one more proof of the close relationship between the two countries. It could have been signed during the two-day visit of Russian Prime Minister …
The visiting Russian Prime Minister, Victor Zubkov, is learnt to have given a "sympathetic and positive' response to India's plea for a major stake in the Sakhalin III and other major oil and gas projects in far-east Russia. India is a partner in Sakhalin I and gets oil supplies from …
India and Russia have found a way to push ahead with the agreement without formally sealing it. The Indo-Russian nuclear cooperation agreement initialled by Nuclear Power Corporation head S.K. Jain and State Secretary Nikolai Spassky of Russia's Atomic Energy Agency in New Delhi on Monday opens the way for negotiating …
In an attempt to expand ties in the oil and gas sector and achieve the goal of energy security, India will seek stake in future Russian oil and gas projects, including the prestigious Sakhalin III and IV oil fields off the Russian East Coast, during the visit of Russian Prime …
High winds on the last day of this year's annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos prevented me from taking my usual run from the top of the Weissfluhjoch to Klosters, thinking on the way of what I'd learned during the week. I wasn't too upset. Deprived of …
Russian Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov supports broader cooperation between his country and India in oil and gas. "We see no obstacles to Indian business joining new projects in this sphere,' Mr. Zubkov said in an interview to The?Hindu ahead of his maiden visit to India from February 11to13. Noting the …
point of origin The first humans on the North and South American continents came from eastern Siberia, not Asia and Polynesia as is believed. Researchers at the University of Michigan, USA, examined the DNAs of 29 populations of native North, Central and South American people to arrive at this conclusion. …
"We apologise for recent price increases," reads the sign over the bread counter, "but they are due to global factors beyond our control." This is not a Third World food stall but an upscale supermarket in Brussels, capital of the European Union, whose farming system was once notorious for the …
>> The World Food Programme is working with the Ethiopian government to extend drought insurance. The US $230 million insurance will cover about 6.7 million people, which will be disbursed in case of a severe drought comparable to 2002-2003. >> The Democratic Republic of Congo closed its lake and land …
Bears have been rehabilitated in several countries of the world. However, it is surprising that in India rehabilitation of bears has not been practiced before. One of the limitations must surely be the very few areas left in the country where carnivores can be put back. Arunachal is one of …
Cotton is the most important textile fibre and contributes to 62 percent of the Indian Textile Industry's requirement. Among the different quality groups, the ELS Cotton of 35 mm and above is in great demand world over for the manufacture of high quality ring spun yarns.
>> Authorities confirmed an outbreak of the H5N1 bird flu strain in Suffolk county, the UK, on November 13. An exclusion zone was imposed at the site and about 6,000 poultry were ordered to be culled. >> China-made toys were once again withdrawn from shops in North America and Australia …
FOR as long as most people can remember, food has been getting cheaper and farming has been in decline. In 1974-2005 food prices on world markets fell by three-quarters in real terms. Food today is so cheap that the West is battling gluttony even as it scrapes piles of half-eaten …
The uk plans to claim sovereign rights over a million square kilometres of the remote seabed off Antarctica. The move is believed to be a prelude for seeking exploration rights over potential hydrocarbon and mineral deposits around the South Pole. The claim would be in defiance of the spirit of …
Safety breaches caused radiation leak at a major nuclear reprocessing plant in the Ural mountains, the Russian government announced on October 29. The incident happened four days before the announcement. Officials of the local emergencies ministry said a faulty tap in the tank holding liquid radioactive waste caused the leak. …
In 1937, Ivan Papanin led an expedition that planted the Soviet flag on the North Pole. He was feted by Stalin and lionised as a Soviet hero. In early August this year, the Kremlin honoured Artur Chilingarov similarly after the deputy leader of the Russian Duma had led two mini-submarines …
the Arctic was a fashionable destination this summer. A team of Russian researchers planted their country's flag there in August. The Canadians went there, so did the Danes, even India sent an expedition recently. The Indians, though, do not claim any slice of the Arctic; not so far, at least. …
