Kerala has seen one of the worst floods in its history during this monsoon. From August 8 to 20, nearly 223 people have lost their lives, 33 are missing and around 1.2 million individuals from 3,02,441 families are in 3,941 relief camps. Initial losses are estimated to be around Rs 200 billion (Rs 20,000 crore). With the rescue measures in its last leg, the Kerala government is looking at raising funds to rebuild the state. In an interaction with Gireesh Babu and T E Narasimhan, Kerala Finance Minister T M Thomas Isaac says he has a three-pronged strategy to raise funds. Edited Excerpts.
Meera Shankar, Indian Ambassador to the United States, informed that India has convened a ministerial meeting in September in New Delhi to see how we can bring the Doha Round back on track and as a follow up to that meeting experts were expected to meet in October in Geneva.
Biofuel revolution by developed countries will lead to food crisis for the world's poor, speed up global warming and lead to the loss of vital habitat worldwide, environmentalists have warned. Campaigners would urge the government to impose guarantees that the new technology reduces carbon emissions. Also, biofuel production was destroying vast areas of unspoilt habitat & has made at least one species extinct. WB & UN are concerned about biofuel's effect on world food prices.
Paris attacks took the centre stage at the G20 Summit on Sunday with Prime Minister Narendra Modi calling for a united global effort to combat terrorism as world leaders joined a clarion call to eliminate ISIS network.
Here's the full text of address to the nation by President Ram Nath Kovind on the eve of the Republic Day 2022.
China's reigning party killed thousands of its own children on Tiananmen Square at dawn on June 4, 1989. Today, the regime in Beijing is not ready to admit to any wrong doing or consider changes in its policies.
Several large cities within the low elevation coastal zone like Mumbai and Chennai will go under the sea if the present growth rate of greenhouse emissions continues, with new infrastructures being made along the coastline of these cities coming under the danger zone. 'This isn't going to happen gradually. What we are going to see is a series of coastal surges, you will see inundation, salt water intrusion -- which will cause lots of harm and devastation.
As the credit crunch bites deeper into the global economy, tennis has so far managed to escape the effects of the crisis and it will be business as usual when the Australian Open begins on Monday. While Formula One, golf and soccer have all been hit by the financial downturn, tennis officials are adamant that only a world war, and not the current economic climate, would force the cancellation of one of its blue-riband events.
A lot of Indian cricketers have been doing their bit, ranging from making financial donations to helping people procure essential medical care.
Champions Barcelona moved five points clear at the top of La Liga with a 2-1 win at Getafe, while Real Madrid fell to a 2-0 defeat by Real Sociedad.
Around 41 per cent of these companies saw such instances, compared to the global average of 29 per cent. India's number is higher than other countries such as the United States (26 per cent), the United Kingdom (32 per cent) and Japan (27 per cent). It is also worse than other emerging markets. China had 39 per cent of firms affected by data theft. It was 19 per cent and 16 per cent for Brazil and Russia, respectively.
Kavitha Kuruganti has been fighting for decades to ensure farmers are respected and get their due from the Indian nation. In order to ensure they don't struggle for a living, she works to ensure sustainable farm livelihoods and farmers' rights.
'Tens of millions will be working from home for months at a time, which means the smartest brains in business will be focussed on creating more efficient WFH processes,' predicts Devangshu Datta.
Nandigram may have turned into a war zone once more but the industry feels that the issue is national. Despite the current crisis being a turf war between the political parties, the genesis of the issue is land acquisition for a chemical hub project. Harsh K Jha, president, Indian Chamber of Commerce and MD of Tata Metaliks, said Nandigram per se may be a state issue but it has affected the investment climate and land acquisition across the country.
Yes, India needs desperate measures to kick-start growth. But selling off its lungs to the highest bidder to hack away cannot be the way out, says Sumit Bhattacharya.
A simple explainer to the Indus Water Treaty.
'The lessons from tiny New Zealand about mobilising to prevent an environment going up in flames around us and combatting the feral Whatsapp politics of hatred are in many ways Gandhian,' says Rahul Jacob.
Naomi Osaka has faced a backlash on social media after throwing her support behind the Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests in the wake of the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died in police custody on May 25.
Vowing to continue its "strong" response against perpetrators of Paris attack, France on Friday said India was on the "same boat" in fighting terrorism and will cooperate with each other in dealing with the "major" challenge facing the world.
The air quality will be monitored in 10 cities.
Sluggish rise in new business inflows and a cautious approach to costs reportedly led Indian manufacturers to shed jobs in September.
Instead of targeting global imbalances per se, the narrative must change to the structure and direction of such asymmetries.
'Coronavirus is not the only emergency, and it is certainly not the only illness people can suffer from'
Rarely have we seen such intoxication over power, which ignores the cries of those dying, notes Jyoti Punwani.
Every day a Party unfolds on social media where armchair activists, politically charged influencers, trend pundits, gyaan givers and troll armies change the world in their heads but remain clueless about the nation's grassroots reality, feels Sukanya Verma.
Swaraj emphasised that the UN must accept it needs fundamental reform.
Khan also said Pakistan has decided to partner any other country only for peace and named the partnership with the US as the one.
The National Testing Agency announced that the JEE (Main) will be held from September 1 to 6 and NEET (UG) on September 13 after the Supreme Court dismissed a petition seeking the postponement of the NEET and JEE.
From India's fight against COVID-19 to China face-off, Kovind spoke on several issues during the televised address.
I wondered how being scientist-mathematician helps one cycle better. Perhaps the self-discipline helps; perhaps it is the scientist-technologist perspective of breaking down the whole into separate pieces, identifying specifics and working on them for improved results, mulls Shyam G Menon.
'It is never easy to run a campaign as a woman, particularly a minority woman, especially when you are bucking the establishment.' 'My entire campaign is an act of resistance.'
As someone with nostalgia for the good cheer and friendly feelings of Brazilian people, former Ambassador to Brazil B S Prakash can only hope that when they see on their TV screens their President being feted on Rajpath, they will sense India's goodwill for Brazil.
Biden, 77, will be formally nominated by the Democratic party during the National Convention in Wisconsin in August.
The IPCC has blamed man-made emissions for warming of the globe and long term climate change. Limiting climate change, therefore, will require substantial and sustained reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. This is the message to politicians and policy makers of the world, says Dinesh C Sharma
Films that amazed Aseem Chhabra at the El Gouna Film Festival in Egypt.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Berlin for an overnight stopover on his way to Brazil for the Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) Summit meeting that will address regional crises and security threats to restore a climate of peace while advancing global economic stability.
'Public sector banks are like an extended arm of the government.' 'They rush to rescue certain sectors or they rush to invest in certain sectors to prop up the economy which the private banks don't.'
Online learning platforms have become go-to places for those suffocated by the current curbs on movement.
Bejoy Nambiar's gripping slice-of-mess about things spiraling out of control find an expression in a striking ensemble and volatile scenery, notes Sukanya Verma.
Water scarcity is often a factor in conflicts, but is India ready to cope with limited water resources?
