Higher support prices for kharif pulses has resulted in a sharp jump in acreage under cultivation and production is estimated to rise to 6 million tonnes in the kharif season of the 2010-11 crop year The support price for wheat is likely to be hiked by a nominal Rs 20 in the rabi season, but the procurement rate for pulses could go up sharply, as the government wants to reduce dependence...
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Climate change challenge for rich and poor by Andrew Hewett
With business leaders and the Australian Government finally acknowledging the need to put a price on carbon, climate change is back on the agenda here in Australia and it's also on the agenda this week internationally. Representatives from countries around the world, including Australia, are assembling in Tianjin, China, as part of a crucially important United Nations Climate Change Conference that starts today. After last year's Copenhagen talks nearly collapsed, the...
More »Much more than Commonwealth Games needed for lasting national prestige by Nandini Oomman
“India is Shining” in many ways, but the major hiccups in the run up to the Commonwealth Games (CWG), which opened on October 3 in New Delhi, highlight India's serious problems. Despite the colourful display of India's arts and culture at the grand opening ceremony, the frantic last minute interventions —including enlisting the Army (who did a remarkable job) to help with the final preparations — reveal the gross inefficiencies...
More »Bid to bring MGNREGA pay at par with minimum wages by Anindo Dey
With the state government finally increasing the minimum wages by 35% from January 1, 2011, the focus of the on-going Mazdoor Haq Yatra in the state is now on increasing the wages under MGNREGA from the current freeze at Rs 100 to meet the minimum wages. Not only activists of the Yatra plan to rake up this issue nationally, but with their prime demands from the state met, the entire focus...
More »UN report shows access to HIV services improving in many developing countries
A new United Nations report showing significant progress in improving access to HIV/AIDS services in 37 developing countries offers realistic hope for the achievement of universal access, a UN official responsible for battling the pandemic said today. Towards Universal Access, produced by the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and released today, assesses progress in 144 low- and...
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