Killed, aborted or neglected, at least 100m girls have disappeared—and the number is rising IMAGINE you are one half of a young couple expecting your first child in a fast-growing, poor country. You are part of the new middle class; your income is rising; you want a small family. But traditional mores hold sway around you, most important in the preference for sons over daughters. Perhaps hard physical labour is still...

Food inflation rose marginally to 17.87% for the week ended February 20 on the back of higher prices of milk, wheat, rice and vegetables. The figure in the previous week was at 17.58%. On an annual basis, price of rice increased 10%, wheat 14%, pulses 35%, onions 11% and potatoes 28%. Inflation in fuel, power light and lubricant group was 9.59%, slightly lower than 9.89% in the previous week. However,...

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....

Commission pulls up Puri district Collector  The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has directed the Orissa government to register an FIR and act against persons, who illegally confined 17 persons in Puri district and extracted menial works from them under the pernicious custom of ‘bartan’, a manifestation of the bonded labour system. The Commission, which pulled up the district Collector, told the government to take action against the officials who failed...

Are the world and human society in general ready and willing to take action on critical issues that require a major change in the manner in which we produce and consume goods and services?  The science of climate change is now well established. This is the result of painstaking work of over two decades carried out by thousands of scientists drawn from across the globe to assess every aspect of...