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 …
Guess what's common to plastic wastes and India's present day politicians? Well, for one, both are non-biodegradable. They cause problems long after their utility expires. Most belong, quite rightfully, to the dustbin. Several have no utility to begin with. And both can get recycled and return in deadlier forms. Obviously, …
the floods have once again ravaged Bihar. Claims made by the government that all precautionary measures were taken, embankment and anti-erosion work completed in time and that the floods would not be allowed to occur
Why is Veerappan popular with the residents of some 175 villages from where he operates? Simply because he not only gives them employment, but also facilitates smuggling of small amount of sandalwood in the nearby Salem market in Tamil Nadu. Considering that he has not been actively involved with smuggling …
it all happened on a dark Sunday night. The Kannada screen idol Rajkumar was in Doddagajanur village in Erode district, Tamil Nadu, for a house-warming get together with his family and relatives. The bandit was on the prowl. Before anyone knew what was happening, he had whisked away their dear …
Bangalore, India's Silicon Valley, ground to halt in the first week of August. The rich and the powerful of the software industry would probably have failed to understand why. Ironically, their operating systems have crashed under the collective burden of the cries of the thousands of poor villagers and tribal …
You had mentioned in your article about the attitude and the activities of Indian politicians, officials and the persons responsible for causing pollution. The problem we are facing is a classic example of the above. We have been fighting for the past year to get justice and three of our …
If you are a self-respecting Hindu, have deep religious feelings for the river Narmada, and are worried about what the Sardar Sarovar Dam might do to the river, you don't matter. At least not to the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (vhp). But a dam on the river Ganga in Tehri is …
Is the problem of Kashmir merely one of guns and guards or also one of hearts and minds? Unfortunately, neither the Central and state governments nor the Indian media have paid adequate attention to the latter dimension of the problem. C Subramaniam, the former finance minister, has written an interesting …
don corleone was probably the most popular citizen in the us when Hollywood made the film The Godfather . He used to make people offers they couldn't refuse. If they did they wound up dead. In the case of Africa, the local people and the government have been made an …
even with social activism on the increase, there are cases of powerful industry managing to circumvent rules and bypass procedures to ensure their units get governmental approval to function, regardless of their polluting and degrading natures. An example is Meta Strips Limited (msl), a copper recycling plant, which has got …
The South African government has severely criticised an offer of Pfizer Incorporation, a pharmaceutical company, to supply a powerful and expensive drug called Diflucan free of cost. Diflucan is used to treat a deadly AIDS-related infection. According to government officials, the offer is too restrictive to be of much benefit …
A thin strip of land trapped between the Arabian Sea and the Kerala backwaters. This is Challanam in Ernakulam district. Freshwater used to be very scarce. Although it rains in torrents during the monsoon, the water would flow into the sea. Groundwater was useless due to ingress of saline water. …
Leftist politicians have a reputation across the world for being immensely centralised in their thinking. So, what was different in Kerala, where the major steps in the decentralisation drive have been taken by the ldf alliance? For one, the socioeconomic conditions desperately called for a change. For another, a highly …
Four years of decentralised planning have resulted in a functional division between state plans and local plans. Policy analysts say this would lead to subsequent material improvement in local life, for example, better management of agriculture and water resources. "An important change is the right focus of planning and, so, …
The future of the decentralisation process is uncertain, and the real threat comes from the bureaucracy. A wide spectrum of people - from political leaders to policy planners - share such fears. "The bureaucracy is organised, and is a great problem. Earlier there was stiff resistance from the bureaucracy to …
it seems that the days of voluntary work and activism might soon be over. Of late the government has become intolerant to such people. Two cases with serious implications have come up in Goa. In one case, an animal rights campaigner was deported out of the country after being "hounded …
as the Union health ministry's 45-day deadline for comments and suggestions regarding the withdrawal of the ban on non-iodised salt approaches (June 24), conflicting reports in the media have created confusion in the people's minds. What has served to exacerbate matters is the fact that the reports emanate from within …
It is a point won by the people of Umbergaon district in Gujarat. Unnerved by the rising public outcry against the proposedRs 1,600-crore Maroli port, California-based multi-national company (MNC) Unocal has pulled out of the project and left its Indian partner Natelco to face the public wrath. On the other …
In one of the largest settlements to arise from lawsuits involving biotechnology, us agribusiness group Cargill has been ordered to pay $100 million to Pioneer Hi-Bred to settle charges that it used genetic material belonging to Pioneer. Of the sum, only a part of the payment reflects damages for previous …
