As a country grappling with political and infrastructural problems, there are very few issues that do not evoke extreme, often diametrically opposite, reactions in India. Population control Bills, vaccination policy, farmer income initiatives, river water sharing mechanisms or surrogacy laws—there is no dearth of topics that have triggered controversy, and …
MAY 30, 1993, was a historic day in West Bengal. For the first time, voting was held for a panchayat system that endowed villagers with the right to set their own priorities for development. And more remarkable, one-third of the panchayat seats were reserved for women. But the more things …
The 1992 amendment to the West Bengal Panchayat Act of 1973 did two things: It empowered villagers to choose their path of development and guaranteed representation for women. Previously, gram sabhas existed only in name and the people did not have any democratic decision-making powers. Priorities -- whether electricity or …
THE 73RD Constitution Amendment, yet to be ratified by the requisite number of state governments, holds within it the potential for a passive revolution in the Indian countryside. For not only does it constitutionalise a third level of governance in the country, namely the panchayats, it also reserves one-third of …
What prompted you to enter politics? And how significant is your nomination as green party candidate in view of current happenings, particularly in Chile? I didn't take the initiative. Frankly, being a presidential candidate wasn't a part of my scheme of things. In fact, I have never belonged to any …
AL GORE being elected vice-president of the US has delighted environmentalists elsewhere, for unlike his predecessor Dan Quayle, who once spelt potato with an "e" at the end in a schoolroom appearance, Gore is educated. In Earth in the Balance, a recipient of the 1992 Robert Kennedy Award, Gore stimulates …
THE US elections are still a few months away, but conservationists in the country have already cast their vote. The League of Conservation Voters, a non-political lobbying organisation, has ranked the Democrats environmental record over President George Bush's. While the Democrat presidential nominee Bill Clinton's main advantage is his vice-presidental …
On JUNE 24, Tamil Nadu governor Bhishm Narain Singh inaugurated a national seminar on diesel conservation in road transport and exhorted bus and truck operators to conserve fuel. Just four days later, the ruling AIADMK arranged a massive jamboree at Madurai, with an eye tilted at the Guinness Book of …
I start this blog on climate politics as tropical superstorm Sandy expends its fury on the eastern coast of the US. The satellite imagery shows the movement of the gathering storm as it builds and breaks over land, bringing with it massive destruction and massive upheaval in the wealthiest and …
Author(s): Sunita Narain @sunitanar Whenever a general election to India’s Lok Sabha approaches, two questions tend to emerge: When will India get a green party? Are environmental issues important in our elections? Our parliamentary democracy borrows its structure from the Westminster system of first-past-the-post, which makes it difficult for any …
SolarPACES is the foremost symposium for the who's who in concentrating solar power and chemical energy systems. It offers a forum for industry, research, politics and financing stakeholders within the framework of a scientific conference program with leading world experts. The conference proposes in depth insight into new developments, a …
