There have been reports that as many as 150 persons including children reportedly died in Bihar and Madhya Pradesh in the last year. However, Minister of State for Agriculture KV Thomas in his reply to Parliament earlier this week claimed there were no starvation deaths in the country during the last year. “No state government, Union Territory administration has reported any incidence of starvation death during last three years,” he said...

According to the UN Human Development Report 2010, a higher percentage of women in Pakistan feel they are treated with respect than compared to Indian women. The Report titled “The Real Wealth of Nations: Pathways to Human Development” is a flagship study produced annually by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). It was released at UN Headquarters in New York on Thursday, marking its 20th anniversary. The first UNDP Human Development Report...

A solar device turning waste heat into electricity in rural China and an Ugandan business manufacturing stationery from agricultural waste are among the dozens of winners of a United Nations-backed sustainable development award, it was announced today. The Supporting Entrepreneurs for Environment and Development (SEED) Award recognizes promising new locally-driven enterprises that work to improve livelihoods, tackle poverty and manage the sustainable development of natural resources in developing countries. The SEED initiative...

IF Brazil has its Bolsa Familia, and Mexico its Progresa — schemes for alleviating poverty that have caught the fancy of international organisations — something that India has done recently is making news internationally. India’s system of social audits, that is, independent but local auditing of social programmes to fight poverty, like the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA), is attracting world attention. A 42-member delegation from 33 countries...

While renewable energy was always considered more desirable from the point of view of environment protection, its importance has increased several times in these times of climate change. Solar energy is particularly seen as a very promising source in energy planning for the future in tropical countries like India. Interest in realising the potential of solar energy is fast increasing and organisations which have been pioneers in solar energy are...