The Global Gender Gap Index annually benchmarks the current state and evolution of gender parity across four key dimensions (Economic Participation and Opportunity, Educational Attainment, Health and Survival, and Political Empowerment). It is the longest-standing index tracking the progress of numerous countries’ efforts towards closing these gaps over time since …
Just a small story in the Business Standard about Europe, but with big implications. The story says that the European Commission has asked the European Court of Justice to approve a fine of us $159,000 per day on Britain for not cleaning up its dirty beaches. That amounts to about …
the Delhi government has once again proved that is not serious about implementing the Supreme Court's order of July 28, 1998. The order states that all Delhi Transport Corporation's (dtc) buses should be run on Compressed Natural Gas ( cng ) by March 2001. The number of cng buses should …
a loan of us $215 million will be granted to Ukraine by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). The loan will help Ukraine build its two nuclear power stations, Khmelnytsky-2 and Rivne-4. A few environmental pressure groups allege that ERBD has bowed down to pressure from Ukraine, which …
as preparations for yet another anniversary to mark the Bhopal gas tragedy got underway, a rude shock awaited the victims. The Madhya Pradesh government was reportedly planning to close the down the Gas Relief and Rehabilitation department. Sixteen years ago, a leak of the deadly methyl isocyanate from the Union …
amid the controversy over the relocation of polluting industries, a private bill introduced in the Delhi Assembly on November 23, 2000, which aimed at protecting the city residents from environmental hazards, was rejected. The Environmental Related Diseases (Prevention and Control) Bill, 2000, was introduced by former Delhi health minister Harsh …
The latest environmental fix in Delhi, once again under the pressure of the Supreme Court, is the relocation of polluting industries situated in the areas that are in non-conformity with the city's Master Plan. Four years went by without the government taking any serious action and now that the court …
The petroleum industry in India has always resisted the use of ethanol as a blending stock in fuel, favouring methyl tertiary butyl ether ( mtbe), a known carcinogen. This time around the representatives of ethanol industry got together at the seminar
With ether-based oxygenates falling out of favour, ethanol is emerging as one of the most favoured options worldwide. According to H B Mathur, professor emeritus at the Delhi College of Engineering, petrol-ethanol blend can reduce carbon monoxide and hydrocarbon emissions by up to 35-55 per cent. According to Saroj Misra …
delhi had not seen the kind of protests that prevailed on November 20-21 in recent years. Thousands of angry workers took to the streets in several parts of the capital disrupting traffic, burning vehicles and resorting to widespread arson and looting to protest against the Delhi government's decision to seal …
british politicians are facing one disaster after another but the way they are facing them should be a lesson for the tribe that exists in India. As in our country, the high fuel prices have become a source of major contention and with fuel blockades being threatened there is panic …
For many developing countries, the un represents half a chance at fair play in an increasingly globalised world. Many see it as their only chance of countering the World Trade Organisation's obsession with free trade. Many of them prefer to strengthen the un rather than create an altogether new World …
pakistan's military rulers have announced plans to allow entry of multinational companies in the agricultural sector as part of its economic reforms. Corporate farming is being seen as the future of the country's agriculture. The controversial decision was made public when the finance minister unveiled the annual budget for 2000-2001 …
the Musi river flowing through Andhra Pradesh will soon disappear due to the state government's Nandanvanam project. The government is planning to utilise the dry river bed of Musi for various purposes such as creating amusement parks, commercial complexes and construction of a road. The project is being strongly opposed …
It is a story that the Indian administrative set up has learned to mouth mindlessly every year after floods wreak havoc. All governments in states affected by the recent floods are blaming the respective governments upstream for causing deforestation and not going ahead with dam projects across major rivers. As …
a storm is brewing in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh. It is not one that augurs well for a state known for the progress heralded by its computer-friendly and media-savvy chief minister Chandrababu Naidu. The state government is at an advanced stage of signing a memorandum of understanding ( …
Forest brigand Veerapan has made four fresh demands to release Kannada superstar Raj Kumar and three others held hostage by him. He has also declared himself a Tamil extremist. "My earlier struggle was for six lakh people of the forest area, now I am in the field for the six …
Zimbabwean soldiers are plundering the natural resources of the Democratic Republic of Congo ( drc ), alleges John Makumbe of a corruption watchdog group. Zimbabwe has deployed almost 11,000-12,000 troops in drc since August 1998 to support president Laurent Kabila's government against the rebels in the civil war. "Others countries, …
" before 1996, European tourists would often complain about the poor visibility of the snow-capped mountains from Kathmandu,' says Ishwar Chettri, who runs a travel agency in the Nepalese capital. But the ban on the sale of new diesel vehicles in 1996 and the subsequent blanket ban on diesel-run three-wheelers …
