“Absolute number” increased to 827.6 million in 2010 over 10 years  Achievements of China, India spectacular Urban sprawl is symptom of a divided city Governments across the world have done well collectively to lift 227 million people out of slum conditions, surpassing the Millennium Development target by 2.2 times. The achievements of China and India in particular have been spectacular, commends the UN-HABITAT report on the ‘State of the World Cities 2010/2011:...

Some 350km (220 miles) from India's commercial capital, mumbai, lies the village of Madban overlooking the vast expanse of the Arabian Sea. It is in this village that a 10,000 megawatt nuclear power plant is proposed - and farmers and fishermen, backed by campaigners, are hardening their stance against it. People from Madban believe the project will cause havoc to the environment and to their livelihoods. Stunning beauty Pravin Gavhankar, a...

For nuclear plant at Jaitapur, only site clearance is granted Environment and development have to be balanced Reacting to reports on Monsanto's admission of pest resistance to its transgenic cotton, Union Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh on Saturday said the issue needed to be properly examined. The Minister said he had also seen an earlier report from the Central Institute for Cotton Research, Nagpur, which pointed out insect resistance...

The recent one-day strike by the fishermen community in some coastal states and the demonstration staged near the Parliament House in Delhi are a measure of how incensed the community is over the proposed new Central legislation to regulate marine fisheries in the Indian Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). The Marine Fisheries (Regulation and Management) Bill, 2009, the draft of which has been circulated to states prior to its introduction in...

This is a budget crafted for, and perhaps by, the corporate farmer and agribusiness. The real heroes of India's success story were our farmers. Through their hard work, they ensured “food security” for the country.— Pranab Mukherjee, interim budget speech Feb. 16, 2009 This Budget belongs to 'Aam Aadmi'. It belongs to the farmer, the agriculturist, the entrepreneur and the investor. — Pranab Mukherjee, budget speech, Feb. 26, 2010 Gee! Another pro-farmer budget....