-The Economic Times My target for fulfilling Rajiv's vision has always been 2018. We can get there in less than 5 years if govt acts on our recommendations, says diplomat-turned-politician Mani Shankar Aiyar. You have been passionately talking about Panchayati Raj. But your party doesn't seem to share the same passion lately... Mani Shankar Aiyar: I don't agree with you here. The commitment of the party to Panchayati Raj and devolution of...

-Live Mint Lack of decentralization means municipalities lack power, resources to meet rising aspirations of ‘middle' India Othakadai, Madurai (Tamil Nadu)/Hubli (Karnataka): S. Paramasivam , president of the Othakadai panchayat, has big plans for his area. "Rainwater harvesting, removal of encroachments on roads, waste recycling, covered drainage, bigger primary health care centres and community parks," lists the 58-year-old, who has spent 30 years in the stainless steel business that dominates industry...

-The United Nations The Asia-Pacific region, which has overtaken the rest of the world in consumption of raw materials as affluence and manufacturing increase, must boost its resource efficiency or risk losing ground in lifestyle, Economic Growth and environmental sustainability, according to a UN report released today. From 1970-2008, consumption of construction minerals increased 13.4 times, metal ores and industrial minerals consumption 8.6, fossil fuels 5.4, and biomass 2.7 times, according to...

-Economic and Political Weekly The Saradha group's collapse has possibly bankrupted lakhs of small investors robbing them of their life svaings, and has rendered thousands of its agents jobless. The scam highlights the failure of the government and its regulatory agencies to reign in the mushrooming chit fund companies in West Bengal. It also brings under the scanner the Trinamool Congress' proximity with the tainted group. In the wake of the...

-The United Nations The United Nations today launched the Zero Hunger Challenge in Asia and the Pacific, calling on governments, farmers, scientists, business, civil society and consumers to work together to end hunger in the region where the majority of the world's undernourished people live. "Sustainable development and inclusive growth will not happen on empty stomachs," said Noeleen Heyzer, Executive Secretary of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the...