-The Hindu Uttarakhand reiterates that our rulers have contemptuous disregard for the advice of the best scientists and would rather listen to contractors and builders to whom they are beholden for funds In the early 1980s, while doing research on the environmental history of Uttarakhand, I sometimes visited the library of the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology in Dehradun. Most of the journals in the library dealt with geology and earth sciences,...

-The Economic Times The latest round of NSS - the 68th employment-unemployment round - brings good news for jobs. The data for 2011-12 shows that total employment in the economy has risen from 460.2 million in 2009-10 to 472.9 million in just two years. This is good news compared to the previous five-year period that saw an increase of only 2.5 million jobs over 2004-05 and 2009-10. Another piece of good news...

-The Indian Express The latest NSSO data also underlines the increasing absence of women from the labour market Every time results from one of the "thick" rounds of the National Sample Survey come out, we get into a feeding frenzy, trying to slice and dice the statistics for changes since the previous round. Since NSS large rounds are typically conducted every five years, there is perhaps some sense to it, particularly when...

-The Economic Times NEW DELHI: Agriculture output is poised to accelerate and power deficits will narrow as the monsoon has begun bountifully in its first month, irrigating fields and filling up reservoirs with the heaviest June rainfall in more than a decade. Rainfall has been 32% above normal in June, injecting moisture into fields and preparing them for early sowing of kharif crops and reducing the farmer's need for electricity or diesel...

-The Telegraph North India is among a small number of regions scattered across the globe vulnerable to severe and multiple impacts of climate change, a study by an international team of researchers has predicted. The study, based on computer simulations of future climate scenarios, suggests that northern India may experience sharp drops in yields of key crops and severe ecosystem changes that may show up as altered landscapes. While earlier studies have explored...