The arrival of large quantities of wheat in the grain markets of the Punjab-Haryana region is a heart-warming sight, while poor storage is a matter of national shame. It was in April-May 1968, that the country witnessed the wonderful spectacle of large arrivals of wheat grain in the mandis of Punjab like Moga and Khanna. Wheat production in the country rose to nearly 17 million tonnes that year, from the previous...

The Tatas pulled out of Singur; the Salims of Indonesia out of Nandigram. What is still ticking is the Jindals’ Rs-35,000-crore, 10-million-tonne steel plant at Salboni. It has the potential to churn out the first industrial success story for whoever captures power in West Bengal after May 13. Along with the steel plant, a 1,000-MW power project to is coming up. At one point, Salboni had appeared to have the makings of...

Cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, cancers, and chronic respiratory diseases account for 63 per cent (36 million) of all deaths globally. This is the finding of the World Health Organisation's global status report on non-communicable diseases (NCDs) for 2008, and the situation is unlikely to be very different today. The picture also runs counter to the general perception that such deaths are largely restricted to developed countries. In truth, nearly 80 per...

Renewable energy sources such as solar power, wind, biomass and hydropower could meet nearly 80 per cent of the world’s energy supplies by 2050 if governments pursue policies that harness their potential, a United Nations-backed report released today says. The findings of more than 120 researchers working with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) indicate that if the path of renewable source is fully followed, greenhouse gas emissions could stay...

Tihar jail today has the largest collection of charged or convicted top officials, a powerful ex-minister, sundry politicians and officials. Maharashtra had a teflon-coated chief minister who was ‘sacked’ to a cabinet post in Delhi after being long untouched by many scandals. Another just exited. A former Jharkhand chief minister is in jail on charges of looting his state treasury and accumulating funds abroad. The powerful founder of the Nationalist...