Social protection has seen a sharp focus in the development policy agenda during the past decade. There is also a clear trend for making social protection, as well as food security, “rights-based”, rather than “discretionary”. Yet, no clear consensus has so far emerged concerning many basic design choices and implementation modalities. The Food Security Act 2011, which is now under the consideration of our parliament, is designed to achieve the...

A narrow education is making engineers oblivious to the importance of human interaction and raising the cost of even simple tasks My time in South Asia has rewarded me with an enigma: why is engineering so expensive here? Why is it often many times more expensive than in Australia, my home? My search for answers led me to shanty towns on the fringes of mega-cities. We compared an award winning Indian factory...

-The Times of India The draft declaration for theRio+20 summit, with India's demands of reasserting equity and the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities (CBDR) finding place in the text was accepted by the negotiators from more than 180 countries a day ahead of the meeting of the heads of states on Wednesday. With the negotiators of influential countries and blocks not pushing for more changes, sources in the Indian delegation suggested,...

-The Economic Times It is not uncommon for Indian companies to encounter situations that require ingenious engineering combined with a uniquely Indian approach to problem solving. Automobile companies around the world have developed some exquisitely advanced diesel engine technologies, but Indian companies had to go one step ahead. More than a decade ago, as Indian car manufacturers began improving their diesel engines, some of their customers tried to reverse their efforts by...

Chinese officials have welcomed this week's scheduled meeting between the Prime Ministers of India and China in Rio de Janeiro as an opportunity to strike common ground with India, with both countries facing “similar pressure” on a host of contentious global issues. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is scheduled to hold bilateral talks with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao on the sidelines of Wednesday's Rio+20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, where India,...