Energy security is a major objective of all countries. Some are proactive and aggressive in this pursuit, like China; others like India are slow and procrastinate on major decisions and allow hope to overtake realistic assessments. This makes energy security in the foreseeable future an uncertain Goal for India. Any discussion of energy security must keep in mind the Indian realities. Although in overall terms of commercial energy use to...

Concerted efforts have been made to give a new lease of life to the Doha Round of WTO negotiations. The question before us is: what is the most relevant role which this revived round of trade talks can play? If we take an overview of the entire international trade scene and the changes that have taken place ever since the WTO was created (including the negotiations which preceded the WTO’s...

Right to Information Act completes four years of its enactment  Democratic struggle is an integral part of social change, says Chief Information Commissioner ‘Transparency and accountability are integral to the success of Right to Information’ When Mazloom Nadaf was sanctioned Rs.25,000 by the gram panchayat under the Indira Niwas Yojana, he knew little of the struggle that awaited him. This 70-year-old rickshaw puller from Bihar’s Madhubani district begged and pleaded...

One third of the world's child brides live in India, accounting for a large number of unregistered births, according to a UNICEF report. The new report titled 'Progress for Children: A Report Card on Child Protection' says that despite rising literacy levels and legal prohibition, traditions and religious practices are keeping child marriages alive in India.  Highlighting that South Asia has more child marriages than any other region, the report points...

NEW DELHI: Floods that have ravaged parts of southern and western India is likely to hit the grain production in the country, leading to higher prices of essential commodities such as rice, pulses, jowar, bajra and certain category of vegetables. While the extent of the damage caused by the sudden burst of floods in Karnataka, Andhra, Maharashtra and Goa is yet to be assessed, the governments at the Centre and...