Skinny and visibly weak, 39- year-old Rajkumar Haribhajan Patil had been suffering from contractions in the chest, and feeling panicky and restless for the past five years. In January 2010, he suffered severe palpitations and was rushed to a private clinic in Warud, in Maharashtra’s Nagpur district. Doctors diagnosed him …
Rapid urbanisation of rural India is steadily pushing the common man’s aspiration levels. Increase in stress and forced lifestyle changes have offered the most conducive base for the rise and rise of hypertension, say doctors and researchers. Achieving a clear perspective on the country’s health, particularly its rural part, is …
This Asian Green City Index, commissioned by German firm Siemens is an analysis of the environmental sustainability of 22 major cities in Asia with respect to environmental and climate protection. The Asian Green City Index examines the environmental performance of 22 major Asian cities in eight categories: energy and CO2, …
This paper examines the policy options for India as it seeks to improve living conditions of the poor on a large scale and reduce the population in slums. Addressing the problem requires first a diagnosis of the market at the city level and a recognition that government interventions, rather than …
Considering the role and importance of rational and orderly growth of urban centers, the Government of Punjab intends to streamline the development process in urban settlements to ensure that these settlements continue to achieve their objectives of improved efficiency and productivity. Accordingly, it is desirable to have a stringent check …
The national mission on sustainable habitat approved by Prime minister. It is one of the eight missions under national climate change action plan and aims to make cities sustainable through improvements in energy efficiency in buildings, management of solid waste & shift to public transport. The National Mission for Sustainable …
Daybreak in the city. The brief quiet of the night gives way to the low rumble of cars, trucks and industry, but one sound is notable by its absence. Gone is the familiar dawn chorus, with its rich mix of enchanting melodies and calls. In its place is a strangely …
The government today said the country's agriculture land has marginally fallen in 2005-06, mainly due to diversion of farm land for non-agricultural purposes. Total cultivable land has declined to 182.57 million hectares in 2005-06 from 185.09 million hectares in 1980-81. During the same period, land under non-agricultural purpose went up …
Hunkering down is the safe option if leaving home is risky, but it's a strategy that could leave you out on an evolutionary limb. Surrounded mostly by concrete rather than fertile soil, urban weeds have evolved - in just a dozen generations - to keep their seeds close to home, …
The world now lives in cities. According to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) report released recently, the world population has decisively turned urban. About 3.3 billion people live in urban areas and by 2030 that would increase to about 5 billion. This amounts to more than half of the …
Over 55 per cent of Indians will live in urban areas by 2050, a big change from now when only about 30 per cent of the country's population is urban, according to projections in a United Nations report. In terms of numbers, over 900 million people in India will be …
Half of them will live in urban areas by end of 2008:U.N. Half the world's people will live in urban areas by the end of this year and about 70 per cent will be city dwellers by 2050, with cities and towns in Asia and Africa registering the biggest growth, …
The new MCD commissioner K S Mehra took over charge on Wednesday from A K Nigam. Mehra had served as the principal secretary (Urban development) before this and is a 1978 batch IAS officer. After taking over as commissioner, he promised to bring about more transparency and accountability in the …
This global screening study makes a first estimate of the exposure of the world's large port cities to coastal flooding due to storm surge and damage due to high winds. This study also investigates how climate change is likely to impact each port city's exposure to coastal flooding by the …
City Development Plan for Kanpur city is both a perspective and vision for the future development. Kanpur City Development Plan (CDP) is the culmination of a study which was commenced by JPS Associates. This report is based on invaluable inputs the consultants received from the various stakeholders and the officers …
The authors in this paper present a factual and a brief review of the extreme weather events that occurred in India during the last 100 years (1991-2004). The socio-economic impacts of the extreme weather events such as floods, droughts, cyclones, hail storm, thunderstorm, heat and cold waves have been increasing …