Renewable energy (RE) rich states like Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Uttarakhand possess 65 percent of India’s small hydropower resources but these resources remain largely untapped, said a World Bank India report which was released here recently. “Given the flow of Himalayan rivers, their combined installed capacity is less than the combined small hydro cap
The corporate affairs ministry has initiated a healthy debate on corporate social responsibility that has thrown up several ideas. The latest among them is that companies with a turnover of Rs 1,000 crore or more (or net profit of Rs 5 crore or more) should set aside two percent of the net profit for CSR. The parliamentary standing committee on finance headed by former finance minister Yashwant
The remarkable success story of the “green revolution”, which turned a starving nation into a food sufficient one in a matter of years, can’t be overstated. Ironically, however, one of the key elements of that revolution – extensive use of chemical fertilizer which was subsidised by the government - now threatens to turn that very revolution on its head. In a report that
On December 13, 2009, the champions of the right to information (RTI) act held demonstrations across the country, protesting against the government’s desire to amend the act. Aruna Roy was the face of one of these demonstrations held near Jantar Mantar in the capital. Prithiviraj Chavan, then minister of state for personnel, grievances and training, went on record saying t
It is common practice for government to ignore opinions of bodies of experts when the latter differ with what those in power want to hear. Think of all those commissions of inquiry. But if you believe it is only due to political reasons that the government rejects the findings of bodies it sets up, here i
In a new report, the World Bank said that Indians are very prone to heart attacks and suffer their first heart attack six years earlier than other groups worldwide. It is the same with the other South Asian countries. “A recent study of 52 countries from all over the world, including Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, found that South Asians were six years younger
Chhavi Rajawat is not your regular sarpanch, even in these days of reservation in panchayats for women. Educated at Rishi Valley School, Mayo College Girls’ School and Lady Shri Ram College for Women, Rajawat went on to do an MBA but she bid goodbye to the corporate life to return to her roots in Soda village, 60 km from Jaipur in Rajasthan’s Tonk district. In a con
In the season of scams, one more has come to the fore. This time, it is biggest of them all. According to the Hindu report, the CAG is investigating spectrum allocation of 70 MHz in the precious s-band to a private company, Devas Multimedia Private Limited, by the department of space (DoS), without auctioning. CAG’s preliminary estimate suggests a loss of Rs 2 lakh crore
“It is very much possible to write an RTI application in 250 words,” a lawyer friend recently told me. He even showed me a few applications that he had drafted. All within the stipulated 250 words, as mandated by a draft RTI rule proposed by the department of personnel and training (DoPT) for applications demanding information from government offices. It was discon
In the last few decades, the negative fallout of the green revolution of the 1960s in Punjab has been continually highlighted in reports of sick soil, declining yields. A new report by Greenpeace India blames government apathy for the state of affairs. “Punjab, which is suffering from indiscriminate chemical fertiliser usage has not even spent a single rupee for the last th
Lobbying and the individuals, some self-professed and others who have famously or notoriously earned the title of lobbyists, have recently been scorned at in India. Their existence appears to have astonished some. Their role in civil society and administration has been questioned by others. And their purported influence on the government machinery has left many shocked. Consequently, profession
Despite the supreme court`s (SC) 2006 directive to the governments at the centre and states to urgently implement police reforms, a recent study said the states and union themselves having resisted such reforms. “Despite the promise for reform the centre has done little by way of implementing the apex court’s directive,” said a new report titled `Feudal Forces- Reforms Delayed
Two of the premier institutions, Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIMA) and National Institute of Design (NID), are celebrating their golden jubilee in December. The spirit of Vikram Sarabhai would feel vindicated that seeds sown by him continue to flourish and grow in a distinctive, notable and socially meaningful manner. He was a remarkable institution builder because he himself had
In a sharp warning, New Delhi based centre for WTO studies said that the revised draft modalities for agriculture under the WTO Doha round negotiations favour the developed countries. “The developed countries will be able to delay opening their markets and would be able to control the prices of agricultural goods through carve outs,” said the report titled “Doh
Per capita income of Indians grew by 14.5 per cent to Rs. 46,492 in 2009-10 from Rs. 40,605 in the year-ago period, as per the revised data released by the government on Monday. The new per capita income figure estimates on current market prices is over Rs. 2,000 more than the previous estimate of Rs. 44,345 calculated by the Central Statistical Organisation (CSO).
Muslims are expected to account for 16 per cent of Indian population--up by a little over one per cent--and Pakistan may surpass Indonesia as the world`s most populous Muslim nation in 2030, says a study. The study also said the community`s population worldwide is expected to grow about twice the rate of non-Muslims in the next two decades, according to projections by the study `Th
