Nearly 65% of adults in the Arab region remain excluded from formal financial systems, according to a new report by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA). The Annual SDG Review 2025 paints a sobering picture of persistent financial exclusion that is undermining the region’s ability …
the Union government has withheld payment of claims worth about Rs 285 crore, filed by Karnataka's farmers under the National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (nais). The authorities have cleared only a fraction of the state's crop insurance claims that amount to Rs 310 crore. Nodal implementing agency General Insurance Corporation of …
Conflict diamonds (precious stones used to finance clashes aimed at undermining legitimate governments) may soon go out of business. Belgian scientists have devised a method to ascertain the mine from which each diamond is sourced. The development comes as a shot in the arm for those campaigning against illegal trade …
uttar Pradesh is incurring huge losses because of environmental degradation, indicates a recent assessment. The analysis will play a crucial role in determining the fate of the state's environment
How important is it for a laboratory to go for accreditation? Accreditation is extremely essential as it is a question of standardisation. Standards for labs were set as late as December 1999. Before, there were only guidelines. The present iso 17025 addresses technical competency; training requirements; equipment maintenance; calibration traceability …
RECENTLY Arun Jaitley identified agriculture and investment as the two main issues for next month's World Trade Organization ministerial conference in Cancun, Mexico. (Jaitley is India's union minister of commerce and industry, and head of the Indian delegation to Cancun.) He isn't off target. The US, the world's largest agricultural …
The Bangladesh government wants to overhaul the country's Planning Commission and dismantle its monopoly in preparing development projects. The authorities contend that the rationale for the initiative is effective utilisation of public money. Each ministry will now have to prepare projects by mobilising its own personnel. The ministries will also …
The fundamental right to water intends to alleviate suffering. It fails miserably to meet its intention. Feel the lives of those who suffer and see it with the way law in this area operates. Then bear the pain. You will see that it will hurt more. The higher courts
On June 16, Prime Minister (pm) Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s exhortation to “implement the river conservation programme with a greater sense of urgency and commitment” was an allusive reference to the states’ tardiness and cursoriness in executing sanctioned projects. What he mentioned even more obliquely was that the plan itself needed …
The paanwallah -doubling-up-as-a-condom-vendor ad has been taken off the air. Instead, Doordarshan (dd) will show a village council member warning women about aids and exhorting them to be faithful. The shift in focus heralds a drastic change in India's aids prevention policy. No longer condom-centric. Harping on abstinence and fidelity. …
Desolate, cold, inhospitable, relegated to the backyards of exploration and knowledge. Antarctica did not emerge from this unfortunate fate till less than 100 years ago, before which, whalers and seafarers were its only visitors. Cartographers barely acknowledged its presence (or chose to ignore it altogether). And the first explorations, which …
It is the earth's final frontier. Antarctica, a gigantic mass of ocean-encased rocky islands south of the Antarctic Circle, is the earth's southern-most continent. There is no place colder or drier. Stark but majestic, uncompromisingly bleak but alluring, 98 per cent of the continent's 14 million kilometres (km) is sheathed …
A 1996 expert group report on the Indian Antarctic programme says: "The programme has so far been working in complete isolation with no substantial element of international cooperation. While actual attempts are being made by various countries through the aegis of SCAR (Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research) to join hands …
On a hot June day in 1981 S Z Qasim, then environment secretary, reached out to answer a telephone. The caller was Indira Gandhi, the prime minister. The conversation was brief and to the point. "Can India reach Antarctica?' asked the prime minister. Qasim, who had only an academic knowledge …
india's decentralisation process received yet another blow during the past fortnight. The Union ministry of finance (mof) refused to release funds directly to panchayati raj institutions (pris) and district rural development agencies (drdas) for poverty alleviation programmes in the states. The ministry has reverted to the earlier system of routing …
Is there the need for a multilateral framework to govern investments? Absolutely not. Firstly, foreign direct investments (fdi) may crowd out domestic investments and leave the host country worse off. Moreover, if the agreements were the major factor for fdi, then China should not be receiving any fdi. It does …
Tourism...handicrafts...agriculture...forests... lakes - Jammu & Kashmir's (j&k;) basis of survival for ages. They still constitute 98 per cent of the state's economy and sustain 90 per cent of its population. Kashmir's economy is nothing but a sensitive and organised use of its ecology. After 15 years of living under the …
status: Most of the major lakes are dying potential: Just three lakes provide economic sustenance for close to 500 villages strategy: Revive these water bodies to generate livelihood Over a mile above sea level, around the Wular Lake, a few of India’s once richest villages are fighting a losing battle …
