The 97th Indian Science Congress is in session at Thiruvananthapuram (January 3 to 7, 2010), the capital of the state of Kerala. For me, every session of the Congress is a new experience; an experience of learning and re-dedication to the cause propounded by the country’s first Prime Minister, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. It is a matter of pride for the scientific community in the country that it is the Prime...

Sahyadris have been documenting the changing climate for 40 years The latest joke among the Mahadeo Koli tribals living in the Bhimashankar area of Maharashtra’s Pune district is: “Ovni zali ka? (Have you transplanted your paddy?)” In the rain drenched Sahyadri range, where the main food crop is paddy, the unseasonal rains brought on by cyclone Phyan in late November have caused the harvested crop of fragrant Raibhog paddy to sprout...

A professor in formal attire, driving his own Beetle to the sprawling Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) campus and turning up in class to “open up visions of his students” — that’s how Bengal finance minister Asim Dasgupta remembers his teacher, Paul A. Samuelson. Samuelson, who helped form the basis of modern economics, died yesterday at his home in Belmont, Massachusetts, after a brief illness. He was 94. “He was a...

A deadly and highly infectious animal disease which affects cattle and other hoofed livestock is set to be only the second virus in history, behind small pox in 1980, to be eliminated from the face of the Earth, the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) announced today. Rinderpest, a devastating viral disease which is also known as cattle plague, will be officially declared eradicated within the next 18 months...

The tribespeople of Kalahandi oppose Vedanta’s takeover of a region they hold in reverence Tradition & Progress The tribal view Can there be another Niyamgiri? What do we do for our livelihood? We can’t live on compensation money. Why destroy for development? The Vedanta view Complying with all environmental rules, compensating tribals well Have spent $24 mn in rehabilitation India will become a world leader in aluminium production *** For...