Accelerating the process of framing a National Food Security Bill, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday convened a high-level meeting with his senior Cabinet colleagues to discuss aspects of the Bill and the recommendations made by the National Advisory Council (NAC).At the centre of the discussions was a letter written by NAC chairperson Sonia Gandhi to the Prime Minister on merging the Rural Development Ministry's exercise for identification of the...

Delhi's private schools had complained that they were reeling under the burden of having to pay teachers higher salaries recommended by the 6th Pay Commission. A report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), however, said they used the Pay Commission as an alibi to fatten themselves. In a damning indictment, the auditor held that 25 elite private schools passed on the burden of implementing the recommendations of the 6th Pay...

There is clearly a direct trade-off between exploitation of natural resources and conservation of environment and human habitat . In the past, due to lower environment consciousness, the trade-off was always decided in favour of exploitation. This is deplorable. Yet, environmental fundamentalism can also exact a high cost that will prevent a number of people to remain without access to basic necessities of life. This apparently intractable trade-off has to be resolved....

India wants an eight-point pledge from the US and other developed countries at Cancun before yielding to their demand that developing nations must agree to international consultation and analysis (ICA) for monitoring domestic climate actions. A strategy paper on New Delhi's stand at the conference says that India has agreed, in principle, to the idea of ICA but with specific riders in place. And specifies that the details would be put...

Environment minister Jairam Ramesh will fly out to Cancun tonight, as will his counterparts from their respective countries. The ministers will try to draft a collective action plan to save the world from the debilitating effects of climate change. However, the lack of excitement in the run-up to the meet indicates that a deal is unlikely; quite unlike the expectations preceding 2009’s meeting in Copenhagen organized under the United Nations Framework...