They show strategy of planting, killing stories, and blacklisting agencyThe new tapes reveal use or consideration of strong-arm lobbying techniquesVir Sanghvi defends conversation with Niira Radia as “sweet-talking” a news sourceThe contents of a fresh set of leaked phone conversations involving Niira Radia and her associates paint an alarming picture of the extent to which the influential lobbyist — whose clients include Mukesh Ambani and Ratan Tata — sought to...

In an effort to break a deadlock in negotiations to save the planet from overheating, Union Minister of State Jairam Ramesh discarded overnight India’s policy of two years on global climate change.It’s a move that will likely win India international acclaim, but Ramesh must now prepare for fierce domestic criticism of his new stand that the country is willing to accept legally binding commitments in place of its oft-repeated policy...

Mexico is making some last-ditch efforts at a consensus President of the Conference of the Parties (COP) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Patricia Espinosa on Wednesday decided to constitute smaller groups headed by ministers to discuss contentious issues at the climate change conference, a move which backfired when Bolivia walked out during one of the ministerial meetings.The host, Mexico, is making some last ditch efforts at...

Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan on Wednesday announced a judicial probe into the Adarsh cooperative housing scandal, saying in the assembly that a retired Supreme Court or high court judge and a former chief secretary would comprise the two-member panel. Somewhat predictably, the opposition parties described Chavan's announcement as unsatisfactory and rushed into the well of the House shouting slogans against the government, accusing the Congress-NCP alliance of shielding the scam...

The papers in this volume, as indicated in the preface, are not envisaged to be mere academic exercises; they are intended to provide the basis for informed discussions among key stakeholders and with policymakers involved in the areas related to agriculture, food security and rural development in India. If achieving self-sufficiency in food is the primary goal of agriculture policy, poverty alleviation is the second. As has been pointed out,...