Water is the most critical of all natural resources on which modern economies depend. Water scarcity and rapid economic advance cannot go hand-in-hand. Yet, with its per-capita water availability falling to 1,582 cu m per year, India has become water-stressed.  In 1960, India signed a treaty indefinitely setting aside 80% of the Indus-system waters for downstream Pakistan - the most generous water-sharing pact thus far in modern world history. Its 1996...

Modern India continues to be plagued by social and health ills like child marriage, early motherhood and domestic violence.  Latest data in the "State of the World's Children report 2012" released by Unicef on Wednesday shows that almost 22% women in India, who are now aged between 20 and 24 years gave birth to a child before they turned 18.  Almost 45 among every 1,000 births are born to mothers in the...

A global scramble for land and mineral resources fuelled by billions of investment dollars is threatening the last remaining wilderness and critical ecosystems, destroying communities and contaminating huge volumes of fresh water, warned environmental groups in London Wednesday. No national park, delicate ecosystem or community is off limits in the voracious hunt for valuable metals, minerals and fossil fuels, said the Gaia Foundation’s report, "Opening Pandora's Box". The intenSITy of the...

-Express News Service Within days of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh blaming foreign-funded NGOs for instigating anti-nuclear protests in Koodankulam, the government today booked four NGOs for alleged violation of the Foreign Contributions Regulations Act (FCRA) and deported one German national for reportedly helping the protestors. Home Secretary R K Singh told reporters that the bank accounts of the four NGOs were frozen after it was found that they had been diverting money...

-The United Nations   Hundreds of millions of children in cities across the world are growing up in poverty and enduring deprivation, according to a report unveiled today by the United Nations, spotlighting social exclusion and calling for measures to give the youngsters access to basic services and opportunities for a better future. ‘The State of the World’s Children 2012’ report released by the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), highlights the hardship that many...