It has to be but a means to development, not an end in itself Is India doing marvellously well, or is it failing terribly? Depending on whom you speak to, you could pick up either of those answers with some frequency. One story, very popular among a minority but a large enough group—of Indians who are doing very well (and among the media that cater largely to them)—runs something like...

-The Hindu   As the head of the largest trade union federation, Sharan Burrow represents the face of the worker at the high-tables of the world. Ms Burrow is the general secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), which represents 175 million workers in 153 countries. Ahead of this week's G20 Summit in Cannes, Ms. Burrow has, in meetings with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and European leaders, warned of the...

FAO to give suggestions on the pesticide to committee on persistent organic pollutants An ad hoc working group has been established to review and identify the information gaps on alternatives to endosulfan and to assess these alternatives. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) will be roped in to undertake studies on integrated pest management alternatives to endosulfan. This was decided by the seventh Persistent Organic Pollutant Review Committee (POPRC) of the Stockholm...

In the brown smog that covers Manesar this late autumn, large trucks that pack half-a-dozen cars each into their containers queue on the broken highway from Delhi to Jaipur and park any which way they can. Their drivers loll in the teashops and dhabas. Few know when their containers will be loaded with Maruti Suzuki’s deliverables: cars named Swift and Dzire and A-Star and Sx4 that have been booked by tens...

-The Hindu   The Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has refused to grant a clearance to Lavasa's ambitious lake city project in the hills near Pune, and it's putting the blame on the shoulders of the Maharashtra government. In its order, dated October 13, MoEF notes that in its June order and affidavit to the Bombay High Court, it was willing to clear Lavasa's first phase, subject to five preconditions. Lavasa...