In some remote villages in India, which are most unlikely to pose as models of development, a quiet rejuvenation is taking place, with communities learning to adapt to the climate change reality of the country today. Everyone knows by now that one of the foremost signs of climate change for the country is the changing pattern of the monsoon. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has already forecast shorter yet...

What are the poor most concerned about? After meeting families in 175 Indian villages in the last decade, Anirudh Krishna, says the poor's greatest worry is their children's future. With a manner of a school teacher, Professor Krishna, who teaches at the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University in the US, has led a team meeting poor families to find out why poverty persists. The research also includes...

The United Nations warned Wednesday that a food shortage could threaten the lives of thousands of people trapped in floodwater in northwestern Pakistan as six U.S. army helicopters joined the relief effort. A U.S. embassy spokesman said four CH-47 Chinook and two UH-60 Blackhawk utility helicopters arrived in Pakistan Wednesday as part of the U.S. government's continued assistance to Pakistan for humanitarian-relief operations. Bad weather and fresh rain hampered helicopter flights, which...

Uttar Pradesh has another reason to hang its head in shame. In the latest survey report released by the ministry of health, under the National Rural Health Mission, UP has been ranked the lowest among all states, with a shortfall of over 5800 rural healthcare centres. According to the data, while states like Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat and Jammu and Kashmir have bettered their performances in the rural health sector --...

The UN's food and agriculture arm today advocated the use of jatropha for producing bio-diesel and said the crop can help farmers improve their financial condition in dry areas. "Using the energy crop jatropha for bio-diesel production could benefit poor farmers, particularly in semi-arid and remote areas of developing countries," said a report published by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). Jatropha curcas grows...