Environment ministry is not that ‘green’, reveals RTI
In an interesting revelation through an RTI, it is learnt that the environment ministry has been approving projects almost at the same rate as it did before environment minister Jairam Ramesh held reins and started his environment activism. The data provided by the
I am an eco-tourist – waiting to take off
An offhand question: Which are the eco-destinations in India? Suppose I am an eco-conscious tourist in the excruciating habit of calculating/guesstimating the ecological cost of random getaways, which are the destinations I might choose from? Who among my fellow holidaymakers are intent on
Human rights defenders being labelled as naxalites, terrorists, militants, insurgents, or anti-nationalists: UN rapporteur
After completing her first fact-finding mission in the country, Margaret Sekaggya, rapporteur on human rights defenders appointed by the Geneva-based Human Rights Council, warned that the space for civil society has contracted in India. She said that the country’s human rights defenders are
Innovation rethought, redesigned, and reversed: To sustain and to include
Talking-and-thinking points from the report ‘Sustainable and inclusive innovation – strategies for tomorrow’s world’ by CII-ITC CESD – part 1 A hepatitis B vaccine that is 1/40th the cost of traditional vaccines but meets UNICEF’s quality requirements; cataract surgeries, performed on 300,000 patients
Are government offices eco-friendly? Environment ministry not sure
The environment minister’s office, which is the flagbearer of the eco-friendly norms and has been pulling up the environment code violators, seems to have no clue if the buildings of central government offices in the country are eco-friendly and follow the environment ministry’s
Inflation hits 21,000 kids’ midday meal
One month from now, nearly 21,000 kids from 30 schools in Chandigarh might not get their midday meal as NGO Swami Shivananda Memorial Institute will withdraw its services and not supply food. The NGO says it is not being able to meet the
Donations to be taxed; NGOs demand action against fake organizations
The Direct Taxes Code Bill, which is scheduled to replace the Income Tax Act from April 1, 2012, proposes that charitable and not-for-profit organizations (NGOs) will be allowed a basic exemption of only one lakh rupees and any income over it will be
Finance minister consults NGOs for budget – says grassroots feedback is significant
‘We are aware that it has been the government’s endeavour to engage this sector (NGOs) in policymaking, to improve the delivery of public goods and services to the people and help in strengthening accountability of public agencies and public officials,’ said Finance Minister
CSR for the ‘differently abled’
In the very beginning of the year, a news story in one of the leading dailies of the country talked about how one wedding matchmaking website was cashing in on the ‘ability matrimony’ platform. BharatMatrimony, as part of its corporate social responsibility (CSR)
Can and Able
[dropcap size=big]’T[/dropcap]here are no good jobs for people with disabilities in a company; but there is a good person with a disability for every job in a company.’ This belief keeps the Ability organisation going. Over 16 years of facilitating, encouraging and empowering