Kalpana Palkhiwala writes: In the absence of scientific consensus and opposition from the State Governments and others, the Ministry of Environment & Forests on February 09, 2010  decided to impose a moratorium on commercialization of Bt brinjal until all concerns expressed by the public, NGOs, scientists and the State Governments are addressed adequately.
The Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) in its [...]

The declining sex ratio over the past several years shows that girls and women not only face indignities and gender inequality in society, they are even denied the right to be born if their families do not wish so. In fact many families do not wish their women folk to deliver baby daughters.
Female foeticide still [...]

International Women’s Day is the story of ordinary women as makers of history; it is rooted in the centuries-old struggle of women to participate in society on an equal footing with men. It is a day to look back on past struggles and accomplishments, and more importantly, to look ahead at the untapped potential and [...]

When Manu (an ancient Indian sage)  wrote the Manu Smriti (religious book on Hinduism) in the post Vedic era defining the code of conduct for the Bharatiya Nari (Ideal Indian Woman)  little did he realize that Indian women would literally take their role as laid down by him very seriously and that too spanning centuries. [...]

Nahan: In the hilly town of the Himachal Pardesh, Unidentified people pasted posters in support of Babbar Khalsa, a militant organization near the Shiv temple Ranital late evening today, creating panic among the residents of the town.
The posters were pasted exactly at the place where the Navyuvak Shiv Mandal burnt the effigy of the Babbar [...]

Ashok Handoo writes: The latest budgetary exercise has clearly been an attempt to reconcile two equally pressing considerations—economic growth and financial consolidation. While growth is important to have a larger cake to share, financial consolidation is needed to ensure that the gains do not dissipate as a consequence of inflation.
Fortunately, what the country is witnessing [...]

CHALLENGES
! To quickly revert to the high GDP growth path of 9 per cent and then find the means to cross the ‘double digit growth barrier’.
! To harness economic growth to consolidate the recent gains in making development more inclusive.
! To address the weaknesses in government systems, structures and institutions at different levels of governance.
OVERVIEW OF THE ECONOMY
! [...]

Dilip Ghosh writes:  Like in the previous years, there have been many different reactions to this year’s Railway Budget also. But, there is unanimity on one point that this was prepared with an eye on the common man. Presenting her second budget in eight months, the Railway Minister, Ms Mamata Banerjee said in the Lok [...]

Kalpana Palkhiwala writes: Issues related to environmental hazards posed by plastic waste have been assessed by several committees. The problem created by the use of plastics bags is primarily due to shortcomings in the waste management system. Indiscriminate chemicaladditives  pose environmental problems including choking open drains, ground water contamination, etc. Plastic itself is a chemically insert substance, [...]

O.P. Sharma writes: Dogri, the language spoken by the dogras living in J & K and elsewhere is a living and vibrant language. As part of mainstream Indian regional languages, Dogri too is now contributing significantly to Indian literature.
The Dogri folk music and world-famous Basohli miniature paintings constitute proud cultural heritage of India. Besides, Dogras’ [...]

Kalpana Palkhiwala writes: The Desert National Park is situated in Rajasthan near Jaisalmer stretching in the Thar desert. The park is considered not only the largest in the state of Rajasthan but among the largest in India. The catchments area of the Park is 3162 sq. km. The substantial part of the park is on [...]

Nahan: Lord Shiv temple located in Amarpur Mohalla Nahan in Himachal was ablaze this morning. The idols were partially burnt in the incidence. Although the police administration is terming it an accident but the devotees are not agree with plea of the police. The devotees alleged that unidentified person had set fire inside the temple [...]

Sanjay Kumar writes: For sustainable development and efficient management of water resources in the country, the Ministry of Water Resources is responsible for laying down policy guidelines and programmes.
The Total precipitation for India has been estimated to be about 4000 billion cubic meters and after taking into account the loss caused by evaporation, the total [...]

Kalpana Palkhiwala writes: The Keoladeo National park, a World Heritage Site which was previously the private duck shooting preserve of the Maharaja of Bharatpur,  designated as bird sanctuary on 13 March 1956 and a National Park on 10th March 1982 was included in the World Heritage List in 1985. It was also notified as Ramsar Site in October 1981.
Keoladeo National Park consists of an area of [...]