-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Drive to any Indian city. Chances are you will wade into chaotic traffic and roads full of potholes. You'll see choked drains, overflowing and smelly bins and streetlights that don't work. The reason for the mess isn't difficult to unravel. Most of our municipal bodies are cash strapped, unable to take care of the city's needs. The workforce is poor. Given the indifferent reputation of urban...
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The poisoned plate
-The Hindu The fatal consequences of having a routine midday meal for at least 22 children in Bihar's Saran district expose the chronic neglect of school education in a large part of India. That governments cannot find a small piece of land for a school and are unable to store food materials without the risk of contamination is a telling commentary on their commitment to universal primary education. The Bihar horror...
More »The politics of cheap rice in Karnataka -ND Shiva Kumar & Narayanan Krishnaswami
-The Times of India With the state budget all set to be presented on July 12, TOI takes a hard look at the government's cheap rice scheme and its impact on politics and employment. Will cheap rice boil? Let's look at the math. Reducing the price from Rs 3 to Re 1 per kg will help a family save Rs 60 per month. Till now, poor families got rice from the Public Distribution...
More »India sets up elaborate system to tap phone calls, e-mail
-Reuters India has launched a wide-ranging surveillance programme that will give its security agencies and even income tax officials the ability to tap directly into e-mails and phone calls without oversight by courts or parliament, several sources said. The expanded surveillance in the world's most populous democracy, which the government says will help safeguard national security, has alarmed privacy advocates at a time when allegations of massive US digital snooping beyond American...
More »Climate change: Missing the wood for the trees -Neha Lalchandani
-The Times of India NEW DELHI: In 2009, Delhi became the first city in India to come out with a comprehensive plan for combating climate change. The ambitious proposal outlined actions to be taken under five heads that included air, water, noise, solid waste and greening and a list of 65 actions. Over 20 government agencies were involved in the project. The time-frame set for realizing the goals expired in 2012...
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