Cockpit

India must focus on rainfed farming

 

Meaning of 'forest' set to change in India

  HEREINAFTER The Union ministry of environment and forests (MOEF) has reached the first milestone of its ministerial excercise 'Defining Forest in Indian Context'. At a 2-day meeting held April 30-May 1, 2007, the Ashoka Trust

Panchayat Raj Half a cheer for democracy

RAMESH Singh Yadav is much sought after. Especially among creditors and moneylenders, to whom he owes a total of about Rs 10 lakh. Head of the Shivpur village panchayat in Madhya Pradesh's Tikamgarh district, Yadav ran the debt for an unusual reason he tried to provide his village the benefits of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (nregs). Because, Shivpur is battling three consecutive years of drought.

Tipaimukh Dam in Manipur driving a wedge?

The proposed 164-m-high dam will come up 500 m downstream of the confluence of the Barak and Tuivai rivers. Its reservoir will have a storage capacity of 15,900 million cubic m with a maximum depth of 1,725.5 m.

Pro-industry food safety and standards bill does not address safety concerns

This is for all those who have switched from normal home-cooked food to takeaways. Rajma-chawal and dal-bhaat , or even the occasional pasta bake, have the right ingredients. Pizzas don't. And pizzas cost more. The point is all about what's happening to our consumption habits.

After the People met

This question was asked in an official letter in February this year. The letter had a genesis: an unprecedented gathering of nearly 50,000 people from Meghalaya's tribal communities at Smit, West Khasi Hills. Heeding the call of chiefs, people endorsed on January 14 this year a historical "People's Budget". Filling up a large rolling meadow in the capital of the traditional khasi kingdom of Khyrim, people discussed, altered and sculpted into final shape a five-year financial plan to develop their villages.

Pesticides in our food

There is never any end to learning. And so, surprises. We have learnt, over 20 years, that environmental governance in India is lackadaisical. Still, the extent of irresponsibility never fails to surprise.

Super Market

• India has 16,000 recorded plant species. About 3,000 of these yield minor forest produce (MFP). • Nearly 500 million people living in and around forests in India depend on MFP for sustenance and as a supplement to their income

Battle zone: Humans vs elephants