How green are our cities? The key number in measuring that now is the per capita emission or how big a carbon footprint an individual leaves. The developed world pegs lndia's per capita emission at 1.7 tonnes. But a study by a non-profit organization of 40 Indian cities says it is much lower at less than 1 tonne. The worst big city in India is Kolkata, at 1.83 tonnes, but it is...

In a dramatic turn in the Ambani brothers' gas dispute case, Justice R V Raveendran, a senior Supreme Court judge on Wednesday withdrew from the Bench hearing it saying his daughter is associated with a solicitors firm advising Mukesh Ambani group on other global projects. A new Bench will be constituted tomorrow to hear the high-voltage case between Mukesh Amabani's RIL and Anil Ambani's RNRL relating to pricing of gas...

  Keats’ lament of "tears amid the alien corn" aptly sums up the debate on genetically-modified (GM) food. The latest to join this swirling controversy is the humble brinjal, with the government’s genetic engineering approval committee clearing its GM avatar, Bt brinjal. Bt (for Bacillus thuringiensis bacteria) makes toxins that are lethal to insects. GM crops use this to incorporate into plants a gene that helps produce a bacterial pesticide...

Energy security is a major objective of all countries. Some are proactive and aggressive in this pursuit, like China; others like India are slow and procrastinate on major decisions and allow hope to overtake realistic assessments. This makes energy security in the foreseeable future an uncertain goal for India. Any discussion of energy security must keep in mind the Indian realities. Although in overall terms of commercial energy use to...

Soumendu Barat, postgraduate in history and Bengali Nasima Begum, graduate in economics with diploma in a computer course Sanjay Dutta, postgraduate in Bengali Oct.13: In Calcutta this morning, Soumendu, Nasima and Sanjay were preparing for the biggest gamble of their lives where the chance of success is .004. The jackpot? A Group D government job that will enable them to work as “peon, orderly peon, night guard or darwan”. Joblessness, the curse generations have lived...