Reminiscing World Water Day: Resolving Water Stress, Orissa Style!
This year, there are two days for the World Water Day celebration! On March 20, the UN observed it as the water day for unknown reasons but could be drawn out of the long weekend. In 1992, the UN General Assembly designated March 22 as ‘World Water Day’ to draw international attention to the critical need for safe drinking water worldwide.
National Budget: Will It Address Climate Change Concern?
India joined the trillion-dollar GDP club just before this year's usual Finance Minister’s budget speech. The fifth consecutive budget presentation by the incumbent finance minister (FM) P Chidambaram is itself a rare achievement that was only rivalled by his present prime minister. When Dr Manmohan Singh was finance minister, the Congress party government didn’t worry about the Earth Summit or climate change but just opened the Indian market for the West (waste!) world to plunge into it.
The Defence Budget 2008-09: Facts and Figures - I
The defence budget outlays for 2008-09 (at Rs.1,05,600 crores) have increased by ten per cent at current prices and by 14.1 per cent vis-à-vis last year’s revised estimates of Rs. 92,500 crores. Provisions for more considerable defence efforts typically not included in the defence budget (for example, outlays for civil defence, coast guard, etc.) could put the figure at Rs. 1 25,000 crore or possibly more.
Defence Budget 2008-09: An Autopsy- II
Budgetary outlays for national defence need a careful autopsy for a general understanding, which has otherwise been kept out of a national debate. This apathy must change for the very simple reason that a subject which accounts for 14 per cent of the total government expenditure and is not kept under the planned category needs to be appropriately examined. First, defence expenditure has witnessed only a modest hike this year.
Responses to Disease Outbreak: A Perspective from India
The threat of emerging infectious diseases is a product of the globalisation process. Changing lifestyles, patterns of behaviour and several such complex factors have led to the emergence and spread of disease in India. The outbreak of diseases like SARS, Japanese encephalitis, dengue, chikungunya, malaria and bird flu, etc., in recent times, have critically influenced human lives in India. Added to this, is the spectre of biological terrorism. This can potentially make a state vulnerable to threats.
Ricin Scare in Las Vegas: Facts and Fiction?
As the investigations into the Las Vegas Ricin poisoning continue with the Centers for Disease Control issuing a health advisory already, the mystery over two vials of poison found in the Von Bergendorff’s Motel room still haunts Police, FBI and U.S. Homeland Security agents. Police claimed to have found guns, "anarchist-type" fiction (with the ricin section highlighted), and castor beans from Bergendorff’s room, which has been under medical supervision since mid-February.
Iran: Looking Towards Space!
Apart from its nuclear bravado, Iran is simultaneously exploring new grounds up above in the sky for expanding military influence, and that is space. In early February this year, Iran fired a sounding rocket into outer space to mark the opening of its first space centre. Such rockets are usually instrument-carrying crafts designed to take measurements and perform scientific experiments during their sub-orbital flight. Iran also proposes to move further by launching their first home-produced satellite, "Omid" (Hope), in March 2009.
A New Dimension of Water Conflict in Orissa: Industry vs Agriculture
While water war syndrome is being contested in the international security discourse, the real water conflict remains an active flashpoint within the national boundary. On November 6, 2007, some 30,000 farmers stormed Hirakud reservoir on the Mahanadi River in Sambalpur, Orissa. The reason is that water from reservoirs originally meant for irrigation is increasingly being given to industries. The mass agitation was faced with police high-handedness, injuring many. The November agitation has state-wise political ramifications.
Northeast India: Identity Assertion and Ethnic Tension
Northeast India has earned the dubious distinction of being home to Asia's longest-running insurgency. The region's geostrategic locations — surrounded by Bhutan and China (Tibet) in the north, Myanmar in the east and south, Bangladesh in the south and west, and approximately 4000 square kilometres of porous international borders—further accentuate the security threat. For the last two months, the intensification of insurgency incidents has put a question mark on the various security efforts in the Northeast region.