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The business of knowledge
26 Sep 2011
In the race to keep pace with the educational imperatives of growing population can quality of education be allowed to be compromised? Prakash Jha's film Aarakshan takes a compelling dig against privatisation in education. |
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Greed eyeing green
16 Sep 2011
Is green capitalism a distraction from the real issues that the world needs to address to realize sustainable development? |
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Price-tag for ties with nature?
24 Aug 2011
By ignoring the cultural dimension of climate change adaptation, the capital centric efforts through economic valuation of nature and people's relations with it, will alter forever peoples' attitude towards it. |
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Carbon Crunching
06 Jul 2011
The World Bank has signed an agreement with the state government of Himachal Pradesh for the largest carbon revenue project. However, the conditions of the agreement indicate that instead of putting the carbon revenue mechanism to the competitive advantage of the stakeholders, such projects continue to serve the interest of the clients. |
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Ganga cleanup: Some unanswered questions
27 Jun 2011
The euphoria and cynicism generated by the World Bank's $1 billion loan is similar to the enthusiasm Rajiv Gandhi's Ganga Action Plan had generated in 1984. The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the Parliament had found in 2004 that Rs 960 crore spent on the project (till then) only ended-up increasing the level of pollution in the river. |
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Nations divide, rivers unite!
18 Jun 2011
Rivers in South Asia flow across national boundaries and therefore, neighbouring countries remain in dispute over the usage of flowing water. Absence of effective institutional mechanisms and political accord make it expedient to bind communities with common cultural threads using multiple cultural maps of South Asia, superimposed on the river basins. |
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Unhappy! So what?
31 May 2011
The social pressure to feel happy has made people more miserable. The market is the sole gainer of this desperate search for happiness, offering unending items and services to make the consumer feel better. |
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The sky isn't the limit
30 Mar 2011
Climate Change, reducing size of arable land and availability of freshwater have forced some thinkers to explore options of vertical farms. But the capital-intensive nature of farmscraper remains a major concern. |
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Diversity deprived education
16 Feb 2011
As the entire education system has remained urban centric and is now becoming globalised with textbooks heavily borrowing from the western ideas and terms, the majority of children in a vast and diverse civilisation like India do not feel any relationship with the content, leading to alienation of majority. |
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Macro design behind micro-finance
23 Jan 2011
Microfinance has emerged as a dubious construct of the financial markets to ensure high income on the otherwise useless capital. That the poor will be trapped in this treadmill of 'poverty capital' has always been part of the microfinance design. |
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Philanthrocapitalism often acts as a smokescreen to cover 'business-as-usual': Michael Edwards
15 Nov 2010
Business will achieve much more impact in the world by fixing itself than by trying to fix philanthropy and the not-for-profit sector, where it has little expertise or experience, says Michael Edwards to d-sector. |
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Use soap, even if it pollutes water!
15 Oct 2010
The handwashing campaign pushed by the international development agencies conveniently ignores the fact that contamination by soap will put additional stress on limited availability of clean drinking water and will leave poor more vulnerable to diseases. |
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'Right' is right but what is left...
24 Sep 2010
UN General Assembly in July 2010 adopted a resolution to recognize water as a fundamental human right, but does it make any difference to the nearly 900 million people without access to clean drinking water? |
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The Politics of Raajneeti
23 Jun 2010
Raajneeti is not an epic but a film that mirrors the political reality on one extreme and the masses disconnect with reality on the other. Behind its unexpected success lie its disturbing undercurrents. |
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My words, it's still fun!
05 Jun 2010
On the eve of the World Environment Day, Sudhirendar Sharma reminiscences personal account of environmental journalism of the past three decades. Self-critical and somewhat amusing, it unfolds many layers of what constitutes 'environment' and how indeed it has been perceived. |
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Does soccer give GDP a kick?
28 May 2010
People's sport football has come to symbolize political power, national pride and economic prowess. Can South Africa make expected socio-economic gains by hosting the world cup? |
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Nature's call isn't a dial away
30 Apr 2010
A recent UN report expresses surprise that India has more mobile phones than toilets but the fact remains that the issue of sanitation in India is more complex than viewed from the western perspective. |
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Not so well-intentioned welfare
12 Apr 2010
In Well Done Abba, Shyam Benegal deals with the serious issue of political economy in an entertaining way and leaves the viewer thinking about the manner our welfare machinery works. |
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Hydrological madness runs deeper
25 Mar 2010
With the world water day gone by and a hot summer in the waiting, the case of groundwater anarchy should be back into contention. |
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Art, science and commerce of Brinjal
08 Mar 2010
If a large section of mainstream media is to be believed India may soon witness mass hunger, demoralised scientists and economic recession if Bt brinjal is not allowed to be commercially cultivated. |
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Calendars speak for the commons
20 Jan 2010
The role of calendars has widened beyond commercials and now they convey crucial statements about social and cultural movements. |
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Nightmare on the road
28 Dec 2009
With increased influence of auto-industry over policy making, massive expenditures have been made to expand space for private cars. However, the near monopoly of car owners over road has not improved the transport either. |
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You can forget, internet won't!
23 Dec 2009
Psychologists believe that forgetting is good for mental health. But the expanding reach and capacity of information technology, particularly the internet, to store and remember all types of information can have critical consequences for humanity. |
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Consume, throw and then blame
09 Dec 2009
As rapidly growing mountains of trash raise a stink across the globe, it's time to discard the 'use and throw' culture which has no concern for environment and humanity. |
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No less than a coup
21 Oct 2009
In the revised and updated edition of "Big Business, Poor Peoples", John Madeley tells us how big corporates have used their might to influence international negotiations to sway government policies; and the poor of developing countries are paying the price. |
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Not so green legacy
06 Oct 2009
While Dr Norman Borlaug is revered for his contribution in bringing Green Revolution to India, one can't ignore the deterioration of the plant ecology and destruction to the environment due to excess chemical inputs used to increase yield. |
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Celebrate Corruption
02 Sep 2009
Despite sincere efforts of honest people and sufficient laws, corruption in India has reached all corners and acquired innumerable hues; still the majority doesn' seem to be bothered. Isn't it time to start celebrating the creativity behind corruption, instead of criticizing it in public and then indulging in it privately? |
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Naya Daur in New Age
15 Aug 2009
A movie like Naya Daur, first released in 1957, is still relevant to India more than four decades later for its gripping presentation of people v/s profit conflict. |
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'Out of toilet' solutions!
18 Jul 2009
Given our cultural history equating cleanliness to distancing of 'refuse' from human habitation, many Indians are not keen on using the toilet. But then toilets offer no better solution if the municipal sewage continues to contaminate our shrinking water resources! |
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Food Security Act: Implementation, not intention, holds the key
09 Jul 2009
India may soon have a right-to-food Act to ensure that everyone in the country gets sufficient food to eat. But will this Act fulfill our long cherished dream to feed the hungry or end up as another failure like Public Distribution System ? |
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Need for a Ministry of Development Impact
01 Jul 2009
Since the planners are primarily concerned about faster growth, post-project assessment of current development can only help us understand the real value of environment. |
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Development at discretion of MPs
23 Jun 2009
Since its launch in 1993, the MPLAD scheme has remained controversial amid charges of corruption and inefficiency; still the new government wants to increase the annual allocation from Rs 2 crore to Rs 5 crore. |
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Environmental costs of transporting water
05 Jun 2009
With increased emphasis on fulfilling individual requirement for water, the ecological impact of water transfer from distant sources is not taken into consideration. |
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