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   Tuesday, May 21, 2013
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Expert View
Views of domain experts and renowned commentators on diverse issues.

To pee or not to pee
By Sudhirendar Sharma  | 21 Apr 2013

Sustained pollution of major rivers; continuous decline in groundwater reserves; priority allocation to non-consumptive sectors; and, growing disparity in water distribution only indicates that the worst is still to come!

Making sense of growth
By Sudhirendar Sharma  | 04 Apr 2013

There is too much focus on meeting requirements of organized sector but does it have the capacity to employ vast numbers labelled as 'unskilled' and dependent on vocations in the unorganised sector?

Save languages, save biodiversity
By Pandurang Hegde  | 20 Feb 2013

As we celebrate the World Mother Language Day on Feb 21, 2013, it is important to realize that local languages also play a crucial role in sustainable conservation and management of biodiversity.

Chasing the mirage
By Pandurang Hegde  | 20 Dec 2012

UPA government's decision to constitute Cabinet Committee on Investment will only reinforce the jobless growth at huge social and ecological costs.

Thumbs down to microfinance!
By Sudhirendar Sharma  | 12 Dec 2012

Despite generous support from policy makers, donor and private investors in recent years, the future of micro-finance continues to remain grim.

Can we afford to forget Bhopal?
By Pandurang Hegde  | 30 Nov 2012

It seems India has forgotten the painful lessons of the Bhopal disaster, as the pesticides usage is on the rise even at the cost of people's health.

Yamuna may remain a sewer?
By Sudhirendar Sharma  | 21 Nov 2012

In little over a century, the Yamuna has lost its 18 tributaries that used to carry surface flow from Aravalli slopes to enrich freshwater discharge into the river. To make matters worse, Delhi alone discharges 4,456 million litres of untreated and treated wastewater each day into Yamuna.

Toilet and the idea of a toilet
By Sudhirendar Sharma  | 29 Oct 2012

Government officials and urban elites remain baffled by widespread open defecation despite several programmes and high subsidies to end the practice. Isn’t it time they think beyond aesthetics and hygiene and instead focus on psychology?

The clamour to re-open the mines
By Carmen Miranda  | 25 Oct 2012

Widespread mining in Goa has not only devastated the state's ecology but also resulted in grave human rights violations of thousands of residents. The economic security of few cannot justify the destruction of environment, livelihoods and health of the majority of people.

Milestone or Millstone?
By Sudhirendar Sharma  | 03 Jul 2012

UNESCO's decision to include the Western Ghats to the World Heritage List has brought cheer to environmentalists. But since a heritage tag doesn't advocate a new legal framework to protect the designated property, putting all hopes on a heritage tag shall be erroneous.

Food coupons for profit?
By Devinder Sharma  | 21 Jun 2012

If in the USA, the food stamp programme ends up adding profits to the corporate balance sheets, isn't it time that India looks at how to make it more effective in own ingenious way rather than blindly aping the US experience?

Rio+20: Listen to communities
By Pandurang Hegde  | 20 Jun 2012

We can not save the Mother Earth by allowing the corporate sector to take the lead in shaping the 'green economy'. The green policies must be based on the voices of communities, indigenous people and people's movements. But the question is whether the world leaders are willing to listen and pay heed to the wisdom of common people?

Green ministry or green signal?
By Pandurang Hegde  | 05 Jun 2012

During the last eight years of UPA rule, nation's precious natural capital has been exploited at an unprecedented scale on the pretext of ensuring faster economic growth. Now when the GDP growth rate is going downhill, who will compensate the permanent loss to environment for temporary gains?

Hiding behind the growth veil
By Carmen Miranda  | 21 May 2012

The last thing we need is the increasing inclination of the State to suppress important reports concerning environment and ecology and allowing the destructive forces to play havoc with the natural wealth of the country.

MoEF: For environment or economy?
By Sudhirendar Sharma  | 08 May 2012

Jairam Ramesh as environment minister constituted an expert panel to submit report on conservation of ecologically critical Western Ghats. But his successor Jayanthi Natarajan has decided against making the report public citing economic interests of concerned states.

First check obscenity of corruption
By Carmen Miranda  | 14 Feb 2012

It is baffling that people from the land of Khajuraho get more agitated when their representatives are caught watching pornography in the assembly, but continue to ignore widespread corruption, violence and damage to public health and environment.

Shut shop of MFIs
By Sudhirendar Sharma  | 30 Jan 2012

For long, profit-obsessed microfinance institutions had a free run behind their stated ideal of providing micro-credit to the economically marginalised sections. However, they are in trouble now as governments have begun to realise that unrestrained MFIs are no better than the exploitative moneylenders.

National shame, but who cares?
By Pandurang Hegde  | 19 Jan 2012

Successive Prime Ministers and their governments have termed malnutrition as a national shame. But their misplaced economic and agricultural policies have only exacerbated the problem.

Chocolates, diapers and Durban
By Sudhirendar Sharma  | 09 Jan 2012

Notwithstanding the rigid stance of the rich industrialised countries in climate negotiations, the economic meltdown, rather than climate crisis, may eventually transform their citizens' carbon-intensive consumptive pattern.

The Food insecurity Bill
By Pandurang Hegde  | 23 Dec 2011

The populist schemes like the Food Security Bill, without considering the larger issues related to subsistence farming and local food production, would lead to even more food insecurity.

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Coke Nation

The news that Indians consume far less aerated beverages each year than their neighbours in Pakistan and China could be interpreted differently. In comparison to per capita annual consumption of 39 and 21 bottles of aerated drinks in China and Pakistan respectively, average Indian drinks just about 14 bottles in a year. For Coca-Cola this means a serious job at hand for which the company has announced an advertisement budget of $5 billion. For the company, economic growth of a country and its peoples' thirst for aerated beverages is directly coorelated. 

Coca-Cola doesn't consider 'negative' publicity for cola behind poor consumption of the aerated beverage in India. As per its books, brand Coca-Cola has registered consecutive growth for past 27 quarters and has been a leader with a brand volume of 30 per cent. For Coca-Cola the target is to turn it into a 'Coke Nation', on the lines of Mexico where per capita annual consumption is 745 bottles..Whether Indian consumer exercises restraint in gulping the drink whose health consequences are all but known, the flipside to the story is that  the state governments are falling prey to Coca-Cola's investment plans?

Waste Appetite

The clock has turned full circle! After dumping industrial and toxic trash in the developing world all these years, Europe is now shopping for garbage to keep its cities, schools and homes heated. What better place than the developing world to shop for garbage! Reports indicate that northern Europe needs more than 700 million tons of trash to keep its waste-to-energy plants running. Most of its current demand is either domestically met or from garbage shipped from southern Europe.Yet, the demand is far more than what neighboring countries can spare after meeting their domestic needs. 

As more waste incinerators are being built in Sweden, Norway, Austria and Germany to meet the growing demand for heating public places, these countries are left with two options - either encourage households to produce more trash or else import garbage from across the world. For sure, it is easy to import than to produce! A company in England is already shipping some 1,000 tons of garbage to keep its systems running. Since incinerators have cornered environmental controversy in India and for rightful reasons, there exists an opportunity to explore feasibility of exporting as much as 109,589 tonnes of garbage that piles our streets on a daily basis. 

Lead View
To pee or not to pee
By Sudhirendar Sharma
21 Apr 2013

Sustained pollution of major rivers; continuous decline in groundwater reserves; priority allocation to non-consumptive sectors; and, growing disparity in water distribution only indicates that the worst is still to come!..
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Devinder Sharma
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