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....

The Food Corporation of India (FCI) wants to outsource India's food security. CNN-IBN through a Right to Information (RTI) exposes a food scam in the making. Father of the green revolution Professor MS Swaminathan calls it a national disaster.   The government did a poor job of both storing and distributing foodgrains and let thousands of tonnes simply lie and rot.   "Outsource India's food security" that is what the Chairman and Managing Director...

India does not have enough surplus stocks of foodgrains for exports in the short-term and the country needs to boost its farm production significantly, to meet the expected rise in domestic demand by 2020, a top official of FCI said on Wednesday. "The country has adequate stock of foodgrains to meet our needs...there is not much surplus availability of the food grains for export in the short-term," Food Corporation of...

Though persons with disabilities are entitled to at least 3 per cent jobs in the government sector, they account for barely 3,650 of the estimated 5.25 lakh State government employees. Nearly 15 years after Parliament passed the Persons with Disabilities Act (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) providing 3 per cent reservation in jobs, persons with disabilities continue to struggle for their rights and livelihood. Posts not identified “A majority of...

Media-corporate links are structural. But journalists, certainly entrenched ones, can choose whether they wish to be stenographers or not. It was gratifying to have the head of India's most reputed business house confirm the existence of crony capitalism in the country. True, others have believed this for 20 years but it carries more weight when Ratan Tata says so. As he put it in a television interview with admirable candour: “Yes,...