In a bid to curb the unprecedented loss of the world's species due to human activity – at a rate some experts put at 1,000 times the natural progression – the United Nations is marking 2010 as the International Year of Biodiversity, with a slew of events highlighting the vital role the phenomenon plays in maintaining the life support system on Planet Earth. “Humans are part of nature's rich diversity...
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Jharkhand: Economic Growth for Whom? by Girish Mishra
As far as natural resources like minerals, land and water are concerned, Jharkhand is among the richest States of India. Yet, its people are among the poorest. Mind you, almost 30 per cent of them are tribal. Out of the total population of 288.46 lakhs, 223.1 lakhs live in rural areas and only 65.36 lakhs are urban dwellers. Even a cursory glance is sufficient to convince that most of the...
More »Judicial Activism and Investigative Journalism: Editors as PIL Litigants by Prabhakar Kulkarni
A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) can be filed in any High Court or directly in the Supreme Court. It is not necessary that the petitioner has suffered some injury of his own or has had personal grievance to litigate. The PIL is a right given to the socially conscious member or a public spirited NGO to espouse a public cause by seeking judicial means for redressal of public injury. Such...
More »Bonus Excesses and Outrage by Jaimini Bhagwati
Government and regulators need to focus on the systemic risk engendered by excessive compensation. As calendar year 2009 draws to a close, it is bonus season for the financial sector in the West. In the last several months, the need to cap bonuses and compensation packages has been extensively discussed in the context of limiting the future impact of the next financial sector breakdown. On December 9, 2009, the UK was...
More »End hand-holding: Let banks grow up
The RBI has reason to be concerned. Banks’ exposure to mutual funds (MFs) has more than trebled, from Rs 45,000 crore to Rs 1,64,000 crore, during March-November 2009. The RBI is worried that stock market volatility could impact banks and, hence, endanger financial stability. Hence, the overall cap on stock market exposure as part of macro-prudential regulation. Currently, the aggregate exposure of a bank to the capital markets in all...
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