In a report released on January 30, and covered by the world’s press the next day, the United Nations has warned of a severe resource crisis that would overtake the world if current trends persist. A growing population and a rise in the number of middle-class consumers will increase the demand for resources so rapidly that even by 2030 the world will need at least 50 per cent more food,...

-Reuters   Global warming will get worse as agricultural methods accelerate the rate of soil erosion, which depletes the amount of carbon the soil is able to store, a United Nations' Environment Programme report said on Monday. Soil contains huge quantities of carbon in the form of organic matter. which provides nutrients for plant growth and improves soil fertility and water movement. The top metre of soil alone stores around 2,200 billion tonnes of...

-The Hindu Dalit groups here have demanded an additional budget allocation for the Scheduled Caste Sub-Plan this year to compensate for the loss of Rs.8,685.04 crore caused by “inadequate provisions” made in the State budgets during the past five successive years. The allocation should be made in proportion to the population of Dalits enumerated in the 2011 Census. A delegation of Dalit activists met Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot here with the request...

Indians with undisclosed foreign assets and offshore bank accounts will be in for a shock this Budget if the finance ministry clears a proposal empowering income tax authorities to reopen assessments up to 16 years as against 6 years now.  The proposed amendment, the ministry feels, may not only act as a deterrent, but also put pressure on people to declare their wealth stashed away in Swiss banks and tax havens.  In...

-Economic and Political Weekly   The Law Commission’s bill on combating honour crimes falls short of what is required. Honour crimes – the illegal decrees by caste/clan/community panchayats to annul or prohibit marriages, social boycotts and even murder of couples – have finally drawn the attention of the State. A consultation paper released by the Law Commission contains a draft bill – The ­Prohibition of Unlawful Assembly (Interference with the Freedom of Matrimonial...