-The Business Standard   New climate report means big changes to future agreements Two distinct features set the third report of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) apart from its two earlier instalments. First, even as the report points out that governments have not done enough to curb, let alone reverse, the rise in the emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs), it does not seek to instil a sense of despair....

-The Business Standard   The Indian economy certainly has problems. But compared to the rest of the world, we will take ours any day Over the past couple of years, and particularly the past few months, we have become convinced that economists, the intelligentsia, fund managers, foreign brokers, don't read global macroeconomic news. All of the above have castigated the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government for having ruined the economy, causing a massive growth...

-The Business Standard Latest climate report raises the stakes for India The latest report of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) sounds more alarming than its earlier versions - and for good reasons. Even as global warming has begun to hit life, property, infrastructure and the economy, there seems little let-up in environmentally harmful activities. Going by the IPCC report, which was released in Japan on Monday, a rise...

-Down to Earth 68th Round of National Sample Survey makes it amply clear that the wave of economic growth has not percolated down from the 0.003 per cent of population of ruling elite (as per Income Tax records, only 42,800 persons have taxable Income more than Rs 1 crore in India). 99.996 per cent population is spending between just Rs 25.90 and Rs 37.36 per capita per day (average MPCE) in...

-Down to Earth   Data taken from 121 health surveys and 36 countries has been analysed Economic growth has little or no effect on the nutritional status of the world's poorest children, finds a study jointly conducted by various organisations. The study was based on child growth patterns in 36 developing countries and has found that economic growth in these countries was associated with small or no declines in stunting, underweight, and wasting-all signs...