The Environment Ministry's clearance of projects such as Posco, Jaitapur and Lavasa will cause havoc in our gravely endangered environment. EVEN the worst pessimist could not have imagined that the January 31 order of the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) approving the South Korean-origin company Posco's steel project in Orissa would be as bad as it actually is. Construction of the Rs.54,000-crore steel plant, its captive power unit and private...

The Uttar Pradesh Assembly on Tuesday adopted a resolution that is being seen as an attempt to influence the Lokayukta’s probe into charges of misuse of MLA’s local area development fund by two ministers. Interestingly, the resolution was moved not by the ruling party, but by Pramod Tewari, the leader of the Congress in the Assembly, and it was adopted by voice vote, without even a demand for division. However,...

Tensions run high within the Christian community in Thachur village, and the government has adopted a hands-off approach for now. THE wrinkles on S. Royappan's face are a result of advancing age, but the ridges and furrows in them tell a story of humiliation of this Dalit Christian, as also others like him. Royappan, 82, was a bonded labourer, or padiyaal, in Thachur village in Tamil Nadu's Kancheepuram district, but...

Regulation in India's microfinance sector aims to address feckless borrowing and reckless lending – but will the new restrictions entrench poverty, rather than end it? One of the many crushing burdens for India's poor bear is debt; unable to make ends meet, they turn to traditional moneylenders. They are willing to extend credit, but at unconscionably high rates – sometimes exceeding 80%, and keeping borrowers in lifelong penury. Popular cinema and...

The government refused to budge on the controversial RTI amendments in a meeting with the National Advisory Council on Tuesday. In fact, the wedge between the Sonia Gandhi-led council and the government got deeper with yet another ministry — this time the Union ministry of personnel — defying the thinktank and not entertaining the group's foray into its turf. Earlier the PMO, with the Planning Commission and the food ministry...