On his visit to the city, activist-turned-central information commissioner Shailesh Gandhi interacted with Right to Information activists. DNA caught up with him to speak about the landmark RTI Act, which recently completed five years. What did you gather from your meeting with the activists? I feel that not many people are getting involved with the Act. There is an increase in usage but the rate has slowed. As far as depth is...

FAO has warned that 2011 may witness a global food crisis. Proactive action is needed to meet the challenge of price volatility, chronic hunger, agrarian despair and climate change. The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) has alerted developing countries about possible steep rises in food prices during 2011, if steps are not taken immediately to increase significantly the production of major food crops. According to FAO, “with...

Some 350 million people living in rural areas being lifted out of extreme poverty in the past decade, according to The Rural Poverty Report, published by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), a United Nations (UN) agency. However, in spite of this, more than a billion people around the world still continue to suffer. The UN describes extreme poverty as living on less than $1.25 (80p) a day. But factors such as...

The main greenhouse gases have reached their highest concentration levels since pre-industrial times, a United Nations climate research body said today. The World Meteorological Organization’s (WMO) 2009 Greenhouse Gas Bulletin warns that carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide have all increased their presence, increasing their burden on the earth’s atmosphere. “Greenhouse gas concentrations have reached record levels despite the economic slowdown. They would have been even higher without the international action taken...

The opening and closing ceremonies received wide acclaim but left many citizens like me a bit terrified and confused. Now that the terms of inquiry into the conduct of the Commonwealth Games have been extended, let us hope that the process of probe will be more open than was decision-making for the CWG. Let us also hope that the review will cover the opening and closing ceremonies as well, both in...