The silver spoon
Development in the small-farm sector holds the key to a holistic progress in the Asia-Pacific countries
Good but not true
The United Nations does not take into account sustainability of the environment in assessing progress using the Human Development Index, …
Turning to God
Godfrey Baseley, the man behind "The Archers", BBC's popular serial on agricultural information, is dead. His 'gossip' was valuable advice to the …
A beaten path
Suresh Prabhu is by no means breaking new ground. He is merely mouthing the same promise made time and again, but never fulfilled, by his predecessors
Who US, what sanctions?
By conducting nuclear tests, India was only asserting its sovereignty. Now, if it gives in to US pressure tactics, it will tantamount to begging …
Reaction time
Electronic conferences can speed up decision making which lengthy, costly and conventional deliberations cannot
Locking horns with the bull
International agreements like the Basel Convention are not enough to defeat corporate agendas firmly rooted in the stock market
No laughing matter
Activists are increasingly resorting to attention-grabbing techniques to bring development issues into the public domain
Agenda for people's participation
Two new amendments to the Constitution promise greater effectiveness in civic administration and urban planning; but is that enough?
Southern solutions?
Sustainable industry could emerge in the South if it does not repeat the follies committed by Northern nations during their industrialisation process
Dam alert
The construction of the Thoubal multi-purpose dam and the Tapaimukh dam in Manipur has sparked off protests
the key to prosperity
It's time India realises that it is trade and not merely technological innovation that holds...
When the water begins to stink
...Yet another rainforest disappears and a way of life dies as "development" catches up with the Guaranis of Paraguay
Healer extraordinaire
The death of Arun Kumar Sen, the inspiration behind the Students' Health Home, the biggest medical insurance scheme run by students in the country,…
If you want to read a book
...the near universal necessity of being the owner of a book to read it needs immediate and drastic revision
Women in power
Women elected to panchayats in Karnataka and Rajasthan function in two ways: some live up to expectations and other succumb to the pressures
Bed and breakfast available, only for a year
Researchers probing parasitism among birds say the hosts are cleverer than those living at their expense. The great reed warbler, for example, …
The fragmented heritage of Jotiba Phule
Social radical that he was, Phule's memory lives on, despite accusations that he was pro-British and casteist. But most of his followers are …
Ban on exports helps protect Indian bullfrog
The decline of the Indian bullfrog was reported recently in a New Scientist article. But, it may be premature to conclude that the species is doomed.
A junkyard in the sky
An average trekker uses as much firewood in a day as an average Nepali family would in a week.
How many trees for a political tamasha?
Tamil Nadu chief minister Jayalalitha Jayaram's self-boosting extravaganza in Madurai has cost the nation an estimated 40,000 litres of precious …
The unaccounted wealth that leaves our shores
The Indian government invests Rs 34 lakh to educate each IIT graduate. It therefore has the moral authority to get him or her to work for the …
Up in smoke
Illegal marijuana cultivation leads to a systematic butchering of the rich rainforests of Kerala
Aswamedh Yajna - the burning question
Over the centuries, the Aswamedh yajna changed from being related to metal smelteries and became associated with horse sacrifices?
From butterfly to caterpillar
Stung by unplanned growth, Naini Tal -- once a queen among hill resorts -- is being divested of her riches.