All speakers addressing the main session of the World Water Week in Sweden during 5-11 September were presented with a beautifully wrapped bottle of tap water! Yes, you heard right: tap water from Stockholm. It is a symbol of achievement that the Swedes love to flaunt—and rightly so. It is also the best gift the Indian government can give to all Indians in general, and particularly those 500-odd million that live...

With a gas-guzzler of an economy, India had been spending tens of billions of dollars annually to import petroleum. And so its 2009 policy on biofuels mandated that by 2017, India would have enough biofuel production to cover at least 20 percent of the country’s oil consumption. The government has in fact been encouraging the cultivation of jatropha curcas for the past seven years, believing that would be the fastest way...

In an encouraging development, Assam has been awarded the best performing State in rice production in eastern India. Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar presented awards for best performance in production and productivity in National Food security Mission (NFSM) districts, to the States of Assam (Eastern) for rice, Punjab (western region) and Bihar (central eastern) for wheat; Uttar Pradesh (central western), Andhra Pradesh (southern) and Maharashtra (central eastern), Tamil Nadu (southern) and...

The Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, on Friday reviewed the progress towards financial inclusion by banks in India. Dr Singh was briefed on the efforts being made by banks to reach banking services through information and communication technology based models and banking intermediaries to 73,000 rural habitations having population of over 2000 as per the 2001 census by March 2012. The Prime Minister also reviewed the safety and security measures...

Around 22 districts in Rajasthan have been identified as those requiring immediate attention in terms of food security, according to the food security atlas of rural Rajasthan released jointly by the Institute of Human Development and the United Nation's World Food Programme (UNWFP) on Friday. The atlas further mentions the need of immediate, intensive intervention in ten out of these 22 districts to improve food and nutrition security. The atlas...