The climate change negotiations are deadlocked because of a basic difference of approach. Developing countries are calling for enhanced implementation of existing agreements, while developed countries are insisting on a new agreement that would shift a large share of their obligations to the shoulders of developing countries, particularly the ‘newly emerging economies’ like India and China. The European Union is calling for negotiations on a new agreement to replace the...

Special schools will be set up for mentally challenged children in Japanese Encephalitis (JE) affected areas while fixed monthly compensation will be given to families below the poverty line having children with disability due to JE. A group of ministers (GoM) formed to handle India's JE outbreak which included Ghulam Nabi Azad, Jairam Ramesh, Krishna Tirath and Mukul Wasnik met for the first time on Monday to finalize a new strategy....

The return of peace and normalcy in Kashmir is a reality. And to ensure a durable and lasting peace, a humane approach to handle the law and order situation may be required. In a vibrant, democratic country, authoritarian ways of suppressing people’s voices prove to be counterproductive. It may be recalled that the law and order situation in Kashmir worsened in the aftermath of unfair and rigged assembly elections of 1987,...

The state has done precious little to improve the lot of agriculture workers. Agricultural wage workers (AWW) earn their livelihood by working for wages in the agriculture sector. In India, AWWs are the second largest group of all workers, after owner-cultivators or farmers. Of the workforce of 402 million, AWWs are at least 110 million. Wage work in the agriculture sector has always been considered a low-status occupation in India, as agriculture...

Village studies are a treasure trove of information on economic and social changes A noteworthy feature of research on Indian agriculture is the resurgence of interest in village studies. Such studies – that include resurveys of villages studied earlier – provide insights into the livelihood prospects of the majority of people who continue to work in the countryside. They are an important mode of research to understand agrarian relations that often...