Speaking at an international workshop on Equity and Climate Change, held on April 12, the minister for environment and forests, Jayanthi Natarajan, sought to build a consensus on the inter-relationship between equity and the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities in the Climate Convention, and the nature of the obligations they entail in the new arrangement that is to be negotiated. By focusing on a technical definition of equity the approach...

-The Telegraph Rural development minister Jairam Ramesh today criticised the media for reporting that he had offered to quit the government and work for the party, calling it “juvenile” and refusing to answer any political questions. “No political questions... the most juvenile media I have ever come across,” Ramesh told reporters at the beginning of a news conference convened to release the Wasteland Atlas of India. Sections of the media were abuzz yesterday...

Audits will look into the money released to the states in the last seven years, says Ghulam Nabi Azad The health ministry will conduct annual audits of the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) to detect irregularities in the utilization of funds. Health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad has written to the state governments seeking their cooperation on this. “We have decided to go for an audit of NRHM fund utilization across the states,”...

-The Economic Times The rural development ministry has deepened its engagement with the Comptroller and Auditor-General. After the performance audit of NREGA, CAG will take up an audit of the Indira Awas Yojna. The audit of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme which has an annual budget of 40,000 crore covers the period between 2007 and 2011. Rural development minister Jairam Rameshwill submit the report this winter session. "Every year, CAG...

A classroom reflecting life's diversity will benefit children of all strata while enriching teaching experience. Now that the Supreme Court has validated the Right to Education (RTE), its success will depend on teachers. When I said this to a friend who teaches in a primary school, she said, “you are being unfair.” I was startled to hear this response because what I had said was common sense. When I pointed this...