Indian social activist Anna Hazare has begun what he has called a "fast unto death" to pressure the government to act on corruption. The 72-year-old campaigner says he will refuse all food and drink until the government enacts a comprehensive anti-corruption law. The government has set up a committee to consider a bill, but Mr Hazare wants civil society included in the process. India has recently been hit by a series of high-profile...

In order to get a deeper understanding of the problems in the rain-fed areas, the NAC on natural resources management would soon hold consultations with the rural development ministry, states and NGOs Concerned over asset creation under the flagship Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), the Sonia Gandhi-led National Advisory Council (NAC) will explore ways and means to maximise the rural job plan in developing the rain-fed areas in...

In Kerala, where paddy cultivation is going out of favour because of labour problems and high costs, the novel System of Rice Intensification’ (SRI) has shown the potential to rehabilitate this crop. This innovative technique ensures substantially higher productivity and lower input use. The SRI system has, in fact, proved its utility in many other regions as well, spanning Sikkim in the north-east to Tamil Nadu in the south. The environment-friendly SRI...

India should look at renewable energy to meet its power needs, Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh has said. In a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh last week, Ramesh drew his attention to a World Bank report on renewable energy in India. The report suggests that renewable energy is an important part of the solution to India's power shortage. The letter gains significance as the coal and power ministries have cited growth...

Sometime this month, Justice N Ramamohana Rao of the Andhra Pradesh High Court will deliver a verdict that will directly impact earnings of the 114 million people who work under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS), the Central government's work guarantee programme. The verdict will also indirectly impact earnings of the 400 million workers and labourers who toil in India's factories and fields for 'minimum wages'. The question Justice Rao...