If we have to effectively tackle civic and environmental issues as urbanisation grows, we need a very different approach to local governance, which requires the strengthening of capabilities and capacity on the ground

One may criticise various aspects of Castro's leadership methods, but he created a society in which the basic aspirations, associated with a desire for safe, secure and knowledge-based living, were met adequately

It is time that a serious movement by the citizens of Delhi and other parts of India takes timely and adequate steps to ensure improvement of air quality in general and prevent the defiling of Diwali

The Paris agenda requires a sharp and early reduction of aggregate emissions of GHGs at the global level, and a sincere attempt to address the inequitable manner in which climate change has been dealt with thus far

At the CoP next month, India plans to display Mahatma Gandhi's pattern of simple living. This is laudable. In reality, many Indians are adopting lifestyles which are at variance with the Father of the Nation's objectives

The US was perhaps the first country to see the rise of agri-businesses, which now wield enormous market power. Other developing countries, including India, too have followed suit. But they must learn lessons

While terrorism was on the agenda of the G20 Summit and the leaders reaffirmed their resolve to fight it in all its forms, they didn’t seriously deal with this menace which affects almost every society represented in the G20

It is almost paradoxical that despite the wealth of knowledge that is now available to us from the work of the global scientific community, the world has not woken up fully to the risks posed by climate change

While diplomatic forays to African countries are important, India must seriously engage at the sectoral level so that it can contribute to human resource development and policies that ensure equitable growth

Developing countries like India have imported unhealthy food habits from the developed world. They must take cue from Chile that has taken an unprecedented step to fight obesity with a new food labeling law