All speakers addressing the main session of the World Water Week in Sweden during 5-11 September were presented with a beautifully wrapped bottle of tap water! Yes, you heard right: tap water from Stockholm. It is a symbol of achievement that the Swedes love to flaunt—and rightly so. It is also the best gift the Indian government can give to all Indians in general, and particularly those 500-odd million that live...

A combination of factors led by state policy has enabled the southern State to become a notable achiever with respect to some key indicators of development. In 2001, Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen recorded an eyebrow-raising fact in his book, “Development as Freedom”, that Tamil Nadu and Kerala had both achieved much faster rates of decline in fertility than China had achieved since it introduced its one-child policy. That same year, the international...

As India rapidly industrialises, the government and private firms are seeking large tracts of farm land to build factories, power plants and highways, sparking off violent protests by farmers and others. Here are some questions and answers on the issue: WHY IS LAND A BIG ISSUE? For many Indians, land is the only asset or social security that they possess and is a mark of social standing. Nearly 60 percent of India's 1.2...

Karunanidhi makes announcement at inauguration of Anna Centenary Library Five boiled eggs a week will hereafter be given to students covered under the nutritious meal programme, Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi announced on Wednesday. At present, three eggs are given to the students — on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays — every week. Henceforth, eggs would be given on five working days of schools a week, the Chief Minister said, declaring open the Anna...

The Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission, Montek Singh Ahluwalia, has proposed that organised sector employers be mandated to initiate jointly funded health insurance cover for their employees. In the process he has flagged off what should be a major debate. As the Indian state raises its abysmally low expenditure on health care, should it all go into better funding of the public health-care system or should a part of...