Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) - Tamil Nadu plans to prepare a roadmap to enhance the competitiveness of healthcare sector in the state, and one of the main focus areas will be upgrading the primary health centres (PHCs) through public-private partnership (PPP). The industry chamber is also planning to promote solar energy, through pilot demonstration projects, with funding support from Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE). R Nandini, chairperson, Tamil Nadu...

The government on Tuesday approved a a proposal to draw a loan of $100 million (about Rs 450 crore) from the World Bank to promote microfinance in the country. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) cleared the proposal for on-lending to the Small Industries Development Bank of India (Sidbi), which -- in turn -- would disburse the funds to the microfinance sector. “The fund will be used to promote responsible and...

Pollution contents were 300 to 1,000 per cent more than the norms The Gujarat Paryavaran Suraksha Samiti, a voluntary organisation working for environmental protection, has come out with startling facts on how the badly treated industrial effluents are being dumped in the major rivers in the State and in the sea. The rivers include the Narmada, Mahisagar, Sabamarti and Damanganga and the sea outlet is in the Gulf of Cambay. Samiti convener...

Climate activists in India have discovered a crucial tool in their battle to hold the government accountable on its climate policies: the country's landmark Right to Information (RTI) Act. Passed in 2005, the act requires all government bodies to respond to citizen requests for information within 30 days. Many bodies, threatened with legal action after initially failing to respond, are now delivering information that shows big gaps in the country's...

The PMO documents gathered using Right To Information Act (RTI) show a manifest collusion between ministers, officials and Dow Chemicals to protect it from the liabilities of Industrial catastrophe of Bhopal. The documents reveal how some of the ministers who have been made part of  the Group of Ministers (GoM) by the Prime Minister have been acting to safeguard the interest of the US corporation in question, which is liable...