The US is facing a major financial crisis. Analysts feel it might even spark a recession. The bond rating agency Standard & Poor lowered Washington’s credit rating down a notch to `AA+` from the highest AAA level. At the time of crisis the whole US sees a saviour in president Barack Obama. Rather than passing the buck, Obama accepted the blame for the mess displaying exemplary integri
“Saala jhooth bolela, kaali dilli ka chhora saala jhooth bolela” was a soulful but rebellious rendition of a Bhojpuri song which found resonance across eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar in 1988-89. A rather little-known Bhojpuri singer named Baleshwar Yadav sung this song at the peak of the Bofors controversy and alluded to the involvement of the then prime minister Rajiv Gandhi in th
The prime minister thinks Anna Hazare’s fast to press for a stronger Lokpal Bill is an affront to parliament, a challenge to the highest democratic institution of the country. He left nothing to imagination when he told parliament on Wednesday, "All of us agree that the Lokpal Bill should be passed by parliament. The question is who drafts the law and who passes the law. Hazare wants
A report in the September issue of the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene says that children in developing nations are the worst sufferers of lead poisoning. “The geometric mean blood lead level (BLL) of children residing near battery plants in developing countries is about 13-fold greater than the levels observed among children in the United States,” the repo
What is it about the Lokpal bill that despite first being presented in 1968, it has still not been passed on any of the eight attempts on which it has been introduced in parliament? Why is it that despite consistent recommendations of various commissions, to statutorily establish the office of a Lokpal, we are still without legislation on the subject? Do we lack political will to tackle the gro
The Delhi government has come under fire from civil society groups who claim that it is forcing Delhites to open accounts at post offices, clearing the way for cash transfers. “Post department officials came to Kusumpur Pahari in Vasant Vihar and asked people to open account so that in near future money could be transfer into their account when it formally begins cash transfer sys
The proposed Companies Bill, 2011 is likely to provide for appointment of directors elected by small shareholders. Herein, a listed company will be required to have one director elected by small shareholders. Shareholders holding shares of nominal value of not more than Rs 20,000 would fall in the class of small shareholders. No one can quarrel with the idea. But to make it credible, government
So cows are human, after all. Whether that is cause for cheer in the animal kingdom or not, up here (at least I think it is up here) in the human kingdom, the news has been received with some joy. Cow-fanciers are not as well-known a class as dog-breeders or giraffe-tenders, but that is not the cow’s fault. Somehow we tend to look down on that excellent creature as being boring, emotional
Bharat Jhunjhunwala, former professor of IIM-Bangalore, has dismissed studies conducted by the IIT-Roorkee and the Wildlife Institute of India on the cumulative impact of hydropower projects on the Ganga`s tributaries - Bhagirathi and Alaknanda - as a `sham` which should not be the basis for policy making. It was Jhunjhunwala`s petition protesting against the sanctioning of t
Chuck Tatum, alias Kirk Douglas, would appreciate the urge. The ruthless reporter, who refused to let go of an opportunity to dig himself out of a professional hole – in the Billy Wilder classic Ace in the Hole – might even salute the enterprise, if not quite the style. According to reports from Jammu & Kashmir’s Poonch district, a special police officer and
You can’t grab protest realty. That is UPA’s holier-than-thou rejoinder to Team Hazare’s request for permission for a month-long protest in support of the Jan Lokpal bill at Jantar Mantar. Delhi Police, in its letter to the protesters, said that no single organisation can be allowed to usurp and lay exclusive claim to the top protest hub. Now, there may be as ma
About one third (31) of the top 100 companies in India report on corporate responsibility (CR) performance and 52 percent of these reporters provide reference to their sustainability strategy, KPMG has found in a recent survey. The survey included the top 100 listed companies in India by revenue. KPMG examined information disclosed publicly by these companies to discern emerging
Some years in the “24-ghante-mein-duniya-khatm-ho-jayegi (DKHJ)!!” news channel convinced me that ‘the end of the world’ is a journalistic bogey. When the US debt crisis was rocking our boat, I therefore bet that the official $14.3-trillion cap will be raised, Obama will concede a cut in spendings, and he’ll wangle from the Republicans a small rise in taxes.
When Kesar Singh Rathor reached his first posting at Akha Dungri about 20 years ago, there was no school building. He used to teach in the houses of the local community members. Many kids would come without taking a bath or even proper clothes on. He would cut their hairs, nails and take bath with them in the river nearby. Slowly and slowly, kids were encouraged to take school attendance more s
The seed bil 2010 discussed in parliament on August 4 has several lacunae and will not serve farmers interest, says CPI(M) lok sabha MP and chairman of parliamentary standing committee on agriculture Basudeb Acharia. Acharia wants a seed liability bill along the lines of nuclear liability bill which will fix responsibility on the companies promoting genetically modified seeds in case of any set
A report by the Greenpeace India said that use of glyphosate-based herbicides poses risks to human health as well as environment. The report accused multinational biotech companies - Monsanto, Pioneer and Dow Agrosciences of aggressively pushing for herbicide tolerant GM crops in India. “Monsanto has been trying to introduce herbicide tolerant GM maize in India. Presently GM maize
In the next few days, the supreme court has to decide its next move on the gang rape of Bellary district in Karnataka. On the court’s table is the question whether or not to uphold its decision to ban all mining activity in the area. At the time of writing, the court’s central empowered committee (CEC) has recommended the creation of a high-powered committee under additional PCCF De
When he was appointed HRD minister, Kapil Sibal was a man with mission. He wanted to change the entire education system and was even quick to come up with a blueprint for education reforms at all levels. But more than two years down the line he has only managed to give the right to every child to free and compulsory education. The minister though worked on various
Welfare schemes for minority communities have not achieved much, findings of a survey by the centre for equity studies (CES) say. The survey report holds that the government has underutilised funds earmarked for the schemes. “Government departments have not been able to spend even the limited funds for minorities,” it says. The dismal utilisation of the muti-sectora
When Anna Hazare’s supporters conducted a ‘referendum’ right in union minister Kapil Sibal’s constituency, they found that 85 percent people in Chandni Chowk do not agree with the government stance on the Lokpal bill. That is one conclusion of this first-of-its-kind exercise. The more interesting conclusion is this: Sibal as MP is supposed to represent his constituency&r
