Every passing day makes it clear that the proposed food security law may not come by for a while. One report quoting the Planning Commission even suggested that it can be expected only in 2012. This Twelfth Plan (2012-17) launch has support from the concerned dual Ministry of Agriculture as well as Food, Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution. In that eventuality it does mean a surge in food insecurity.A dispassionate...

companies could have a big impact in the fight against climate change, according to a United Nations report released today.“Waste and Climate Change: Global Trends and Strategy Framework” – prepared by the UN Environment Programme’s (UNEP) International Environmental Technology Centre – says the waste sector is particularly well placed to cut its contribution to global man-made greenhouse gas (GHG) and even become an emissions saver.The report recommends reducing the amount...

Industrialist Ratan Tata has the capacity to challenge a breach of his privacy in the Supreme Court. But what about the nearly 60 crore Indian residents who don’t know what will become of the biometric data being collected by UIDAI? The leak of the Niira Radia tapes in India and thousands of US classified documents on WikiLeaks, has stirred up again the debate on privacy. Earlier this week, Tata group chairman...

Jairam Ramesh, India's environment minister, will make a decision in the next week that could define the future of the country: whether to approve a $12 billion South Korean-owned steel plant, the largest potential foreign direct investment ever on the subcontinent. The plant, proposed by South Korea's Posco, has been in the works for years. It already has been cleared by the environment ministry, which Mr. Ramesh runs, and endorsed by...

India’s main challenge at the Cancun climate summit is to try and bring the US — the world’s second largest carbon emitter — on board with the emerging economies in tackling climate change. And to do this, it is willing to open itself up to international verification of its domestic mitigation measures. Before leaving for Mexico, environment minister Jairam Ramesh told HT his mandate was to “play a bridge” between the...