-Down to Earth Report lacks region specific-information; methodology used is questionable, say experts in India A recent World Bank report recommending reduction of common pollutants like soot or black carbon and methane in the Himalayan region to slow global warming has drawn severe criticism from Indian scientists. Reducing emissions of black carbon and methane can not only save lives by reducing air pollutants in atmosphere but also bring down ice melt which is...

-Outlook Delhi faces frequent pollution emergency which could lead to health hazards, a recent study has found after the city's air quality was monitored on the same benchmark as that of Beijing or United States. A study by Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) conducted between October 1, 2013 and January 31, reviewed the state of air quality reporting by monitoring agencies in Delhi and Beijing. "If we apply the air quality classification...

-The Hindu This includes those who never enrolled and those who dropped out Bangalore (Karnataka): As many as 1,70,525 children in the State between the age of seven and 14 are out-of-school, reveals the survey carried out by Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan. This includes children who never enrolled and those who have dropped out of school. The data, which has been compiled after school and household surveys, has been further tracked at the block,...

-The Hindu     The UPA government's response to questions on Aadhaar's voluntariness continues to be marked by ‘intentional ambiguity.' Compulsion by stealth is used to camouflage the use of Aadhaar as a neo-liberal policy tool "This debate is ... about our specific disagreement on the meaning of that one word," i.e. "the Government now seek to persuade us that ‘voluntary' actually means ‘compulsory'." That was Nick Clegg in the United Kingdom's House of Commons...

-Down to Earth UPA gives sops under MGNREGS to attract rural voters ahead of elections WITH most of its recent schemes struggling, a desperate UPA government is pinning its hopes on Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) to win votes in 2014 elections. The government is overhauling the employment scheme that helped it return to power in 2009 for a reason. It touches the lives of over 55 per cent...