-TheWire.in Sukinda, the world’s largest open-cast mining area, is also the world’s fourth-most polluted place – and the cost is carried by its original inhabitants. Sukinda (Jajpur district, Odisha): Outside her mud-walled house, Pitayi Mankidia, 30, is holding her two-year-old daughter Huli, who is crying. Huli’s face is smeared with neem leaves to soothe the pain and itching that is aggravated by the dust in the area. Both mother and daughter have...

-The Hindu The former Chief Statistician on calculating GDP back series, on indicators of development, and the fall of the rupee The draft of the back series GDP data, which was made public by the government recently, is unlikely to change drastically even if other methods of calculation are used, says former Chief Statistician of India, Pronab Sen. The noted economist discusses GDP, employment and poverty data; the value of the rupee;...

-CitizenMatters.in Built in the 13th century, Delhi’s Qutb Minar, a UNESCO world heritage site and one of the tallest minarets in the country, is facing stiff competition − from the height of a garbage dump in the national capital. In a recent report, a panel of India’s Parliament noted their observations on landfill sites in Delhi, writing that the “laissez-faire of the civic bodies of Delhi also gets reflected in the fact...

-PTI The NGT has directed the National Mission for Clean Ganga to install display boards at a gap of 100 km to indicate whether the water was fit for bathing or drinking New Delhi: Most of the Ganga river water in the Uttar Pradesh-West Bengal stretch is unfit for drinking and bathing, a map released by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has indicated. The National Green Tribunal last month directed the National...

-IANS The crisis is mainly being brought about by three specific factors: climate change, pollution and poor farming practices Shimla and Bengaluru are two very disparate cities. One is a quaint hill station that acts as a summer retreat for most Indians while the other is a bustling IT hub, which makes it a popular destination for most of the corporates in India. Both are poles apart and, quite aptly, situated in opposite...