The dreaded El Niño weather phenomenon is set to appear during the second half of the southwest monsoon, which may cause less-than-expected rains in August and September. El Niño had earlier hit the Indian monsoon in 2009, when the country faced a severe drought. This time, its impact is not clear as of now, but if there are excessive breaks in the monsoon, crops of paddy, oilseeds and pulses could...

What is the point of having a great GDP if as a society we are unhealthy? I am a bit of a dreamer. I dream that one day we will be living in a country where things will be different, and where the rich and the poor will both get the same, good, quality health care. To many it may seem like a totally impractical, and an unachievable dream. But it's...

-The Times of India RANCHI: Decentralisation is the need of the hour but what are the limitations in its implementation and how the media can be roped in this whole process to create an awareness among the common masses were some of the areas where speakers delved in the two-day programme. The workshop called "Media capacity building workshop" was organized by the Centre and UN joint programme on convergence concluded here on...

In a Bangladeshi folk story, a disabled grandfather is carried by his son in a basket, to be abandoned in the forest. On seeing this, the grandson calls out, 'Father, please be sure to bring back the basket. I will need it when you grow old'. Three thousand ageing men and women gathered in Delhi in the blazing midsummer heat to demand a universal pension for all aged people, not...

The Comptroller and Auditor General's final report on allocation of coal blocks between 2004 and 2009 without auction is expected to peg the value of "undue benefits" that the government extended to private entities alone at more than Rs 1.8 lakh crore, sources have indicated. The last draft of the report, first reported by TOI on March 22, had said the government extended undue benefits of Rs 10.67 lakh crore by...