A cycling India: To carve an alternative growth trail
By no means should it seem amazing – that bicycle ownership (30″50 per cent) in Indian cities is much higher than ownership of cars (3″13 per cent) and two-wheelers. Bicycle use in India varies from 7″15 per cent in large cities to
Posco violated environmental laws; uncertainty clouds biggest FDI project
South Korean steel major Posco’s India project faces a huge cloud of uncertainty. The expert panel set up by the environment ministry has accused the company of violating environmental laws. Three of four members of the committee recommended that all initial clearances to
Development will happen, but not at the cost of environment and nature: Ramesh
‘Economic growth is our overriding priority; there is no doubt that we have to grow at 8 to 9 per cent a year, but not at the cost of environment, not at the cost of nature, not at the cost of our forests,
Sustainable access: Correcting the wrongs of lopsided development
We cannot solve the problems that we have created with the same thinking that created them.’ – ” Albert Einstein The phrase ‘sustainable development’ buzzes around politics and economics today, but seldom is the phrase defined and even more rarely is the concept
Empowered women, rural progress and green revolution will help India prosper
‘There is no substitute to women empowerment. If we have to bring social equality in the country, women have to be happy in individual homes as well as society. The nation will not prosper without their happiness,’ said President Pratibha Patil. ‘Women had
CSR kitty of oil companies to subsidize gas for rural poor
With an aim to provide clean fuel to rural India, the finance ministry has approved the oil ministry’s proposal to provide extremely subsidized cooking gas connections to over seven million poor families in rural areas. The subsidy will be shared equally between the
CSR is a way of doing business ‘will be considered in Companies Bill 2009
‘There was no question of making corporate social responsibility (CSR) mandatory,’ said Salman Khursheed, minister of corporate affairs, in an interview to Mint on October 9 while discussing the Companies Bill, 2009, that will soon be tabled before the parliament. ‘I think CSR
Omidyar’s philanthropy to catalyse economic, social and political change
In the beginning of this month, Janaagraha, a Bengaluru-based non-profit organization, received a grant worth $3 million from a US-based philanthropic investment firm that had recently started operations in India. The funding will be used to upscale Janaagraha’s citizen engagement and urban governance
116 roads violate Forest Act in Himachal; forest department and PWD guilty
A total of 116 roads in Himachal Pradesh were built violating Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980. Moreover, the no-objection certificates (NOCs) to build the roads were issued by unauthorized persons like patwaris, range officers and block development officers (BDOs). The matter is now sub
Polluted air increases severity of asthma
A recent research conducted jointly by experts at Stanford University and University of California has found that polluted air directly affects a gene that appears to increase the severity of asthma in children. The study was done on 181 children with and without