Was Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh right when, holding the toxic waste at the Union Carbide/Dow Chemicals’ factory in Bhopal, he made LIGht of the problem, saying: “I held the toxic waste in my hand… I’m still alive and am not coughing?” Is the state government in Bhopal right when it cites a series of reports, including one from the Defence Research and Development Establishment (DRDE) in Gwalior, to say that...
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Newspapers asked to evolve revenue model without compromising on mission
Debate at Annual Press Freedom Round Table centred on revenue-content divide HYDERABAD: As the print medium faces a steep decline in advertisement revenue in the wake of the economic slowdown, the debate over whether business interests or editorial content should dominate the content in newspapers continues to take centre-stage. The issue — which formed the core of the Annual Press Freedom Round Table on the theme “Free Press: what good is...
More »NGOs: why toss and delay AIDS Bill? by Aarti Dhar
Several organisations working on issues surrounding HIV/AIDS on Monday made a vociferous demand for the immediate tabling of the HIV/AIDS Bill, 2009. The Bill was drafted and finalised in 2006 by the Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry after country-wide consultations with stakeholders and sent to the Law Ministry. From 2007 to October 2009, the Law Ministry released four drafts, each omitting several critical provisions aimed at promoting and protecting...
More »Domino effect on commodity trade by Nidhi Nath Srinivas
Real estate may be the epicentre of Dubai’s debt crisis, but it is the Indian commodity trade that will feel its aftershocks for months to come. Two reasons make Dubai important to Indian companies. One, Dubai is the hub of most-traded commodities, from pearls, gold and diamonds to tea, cotton, basmati and sugar. Crucially, it is gateway to west Asia. All the top players in the region, especially Gulf Cooperation...
More »Satyam Computer Fraud Grows to $2.5 Billion by Nandini Lakshman
Eleven months after B. Ramalinga Raju, the former chairman of Hyderabad-based Satyam Computer Services, confessed to masterminding a $1.2 billion fraud at Indias fourth largest I.T. outsourcing company, the dirt is still tumbling out. On Nov. 24, the country's Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) released findings that show the alleged fraudulent accounting and embezzlement was far larger than originally thought. Raju and nine accomplices skimmed some $2.5 billion from the...
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