-Outlook A girl from small-town Bihar has big ideas She travelled to Norway when she was barely 12 years old to speak on energy conservation. At least switch to CFL and LED, she had pleaded. That was four years ago. Her village in Dumka, Bihar, still has no electricity. At Rio this month, Shweta Marandi gave a one-and-a-half hour presentation on the same subject and was invited to visit Rome and...

-The Hindu The acrimony between the government and the opposition has worsened to such an extent that it has subverted attempts to reach workable solutions to practical problems The French sociologist and columnist Raymond Aron had pointed out that in English, there are two different terms, “politics” and “policy” whereas in his own language there is only one single term, “La politique,” to cover both. It is the same in German as...

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's direct involvement in the finance ministry has renewed reform vigour among officials, who plan steps to reform fuel pricing and accelerate domestic oil exploration, government and industry officials said. According to officials fuel pricing reforms are expected after mid July post Presidential poll, which would include a hike in diesel rates by atleast Rs 3 per litre and limiting highly subsidized cooking gas cylinders to four refills...

-The Asian Age   Amidst the high voltage campaign to tom-tom Bihar’s achievements for registering an unprecedented growth rate of 13.13 per cent for the year-2011-12, there exists a dark story. Almost half of the state’s population still lives below poverty line (BPL). According to sources in the Planning Commission, the background note, prepared by the panel for the Plan (2012-13) discussion with Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar on Wednesday, around 48 per...

-International Land coalition   Rome, Italy - Information on land governance is critical factor for enabling developing and emerging economies to establish effective land tenure systems and ultimately ensure secure and equitable access to and control over land. To this end, the International Land coalition, together with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), today announce the integration of information on land from FAO databases accessible through the Land...