-The Hindu What it signifies, what it does not tell us and what it will definitely not be used for Great shrillness has marked the current furore over the Planning Commission's latest poverty estimates. No surprise, therefore, that understanding and wisdom have flowed in an inverse proportion. Surprising and sad, however, is the fact that some political leaders have at times spoken in a manner deeply hurtful to the aam aadmi and...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Vedanta may have look for an alternative mining site to feed its alumina refinery at Lanjigarh in Odisha as its plan to mine Niyamgiri hills in the state may not get the Union environment ministry's nod amid strong protests from villagers. Government sources indicated that since eight of the 12 Gram Sabhas rejected the state's proposal to allow bauxite mining in Niyamgiri hills, the ministry, which...

-The Times of India BHAWANIPATNA: Vedanta Aluminium Ltd's plan to mine Niyamgiri hills got dashed on Monday with the seventh gram sabha opposing the move. The Supreme Court had ordered Gram Sabhas to vote on bauxite mining in the hills. All six Gram Sabhas - three in Kalahandi district and three in Rayagada - rejected the proposal. There will be five more such meets, but the result is clear: the tribal...

-The Hindu The government has come good on its promise to put in place a food security architecture but the manner in which it has pushed through the historic measure, which gives roughly 67 per cent of the population a legal right over cheap food grains, suggests it was done with an eye on the 2014 general election. The ordinance route is an extraordinary move, considered legitimate only in situations of...

-The Hindu     Unorthodox models of conservation are needed to save this elusive and magnificent big bird "Have you seen the Big Five?" That's the question you will invariably be asked if you visit the East African states. The Big Five, Africa's largest, and thus most prominent, mammals - the lion, the rhino, the leopard, the buffalo and the elephant - have dominated camp fire stories, tourist expectations and the growth of conservation. Across...