-The Indian Express   The Himalayas need special policy attention, given their strategic importance and unique vulnerabilities   The fifth assessment report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) predicted increased global warming, with a 1.5-2.0 degree rise in surface temperature by the end of the 21st century. This will not only make coastal regions vulnerable to sea-level rise but also make the sensitive Himalayan ecosystem more vulnerable. The increase in temperature will...

-Down to Earth   The Gram Nyayalaya Act was passed in 2008 to make the judicial process participatory, inexpensive and accessible to rural India. But rural courts are still few and far between When a mobile court visited Luhari village in Madhya Pradesh's Jabalpur district a year ago, it was a blessing for people like Birsan Singh. A tea vendor, Birsan would lose his daily income whenever he had to attend court. He...

-DNA   Gadag: Rajendra Shirol, a farmer from the drought prone Gadag district, has found a way to find some respite from the increasing temperature. He has cultivated an Ayurvedic herbal crop `Ashwagandha', botanically known as ‘Withania somnifera.' He has been encouraging about 100 farmers in the Gadag and Koppal districts to sow the seeds of Ashwagandha, that can grow in plenty, despite the scarcity of water, infertility of land, hot temperature and...

-The Business Standard   The new Act is an effort to address the historical injustice while speeding up procedures The Land Acquisition Act, 1894, is a colonial law enacted by the British government which survived and continued post-independence. This Act authorised the government to acquire the land from privately held person for public use, at a reasonable price. Even after independence, the Indian government continued with the 1894 Act. In many instances there have...

-The Hindu   On the first anniversary of the Uttarakhand disaster, here's a look at issues plaguing the fledgling state. On June 16, it will be a year since Uttarakhand experienced its worst natural disaster. It was also a year of loss, of grief, of recovery and of resilience. While those affected continue to cope and rise, we need to look beyond the disaster in order to unravel the contradictions and challenges that...