Industrialised countries are increasingly outsourcing part of their emissions of greenhouse gases to emerging economies such as China and India through global trade, a new study has revealed. The study by an international team of scientists has also shown that greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere have rocketed to unprecedented levels despite the global financial crisis (GFC) two years ago. Although the GFC did lead to a temporary dip in emissions from...

-The Times of India   The Supreme Court on Friday ordered an investigation into whether the benefits of government's welfare programmes like NREGA were reaching the intended beneficiaries and to fix accountability for ensuring that they do, in what is going to be a gigantic exercise. A bench of Justices G S Singhvi and S J Mukhopadhaya appointed senior advocate Indu Malhotra as amicus curiae and asked her to study the details...

-The Times of India   A delegation of farmers from north India met commerce industry and textiles minister Anand Sharma on Saturday and backed the government's move to allow 51% foreign direct investment in the multi-brand retail sector. The farmers said the policy removes middleman and will bring better prices for the farmer's products. They said a progressive move that is expected to benefit the farm economy should be supported. "As far as FDI...

-PTI   The United Nations has warned that the world is on the brink of another recession, projecting that global economic growth will slow down further in 2012 and even emerging powerhouses like India and China, which led the recovery last time, will get bogged down.  The UN 'World Economic Situation and Prospects 2012' report has cut the global growth forecast for next year to 2.6 per cent from 4 per cent in...

The winds of democracy are making it harder for India to negotiate the construction of mega hydel projects in Bhutan. Fixing terms and conditions for bringing power from Bhutan was a cakewalk with the first three hydel projects five years ago. With newspapers other than the Kuensel , a tiny but vocal Opposition in Bhutanese Parliament and exiled leaders raising issues relating to sovereignty, Indian officials are now having to work...