DNA

More news of the dam-scam of Karnataka still keeps trickling out. The latest to leak out from the weirs of secrecy and dubiousness is that of one single dam in Gulbarga district which is masquerading as two distinct small hydel projects (SHEPs). On paper, the 24.75 MW Mouneswar Small Hydel Project and the 24.75 MW Basavanna Hydro Project are discrete and unconnected projects on the Krishna river. The two projects have separately applied for credits under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) of...

India in Love: Marriage and Sexuality In The 21st century explores mating habits of youngsters on campuses and in offices; examines the changing face of pornography and prostitution; probes oppression of the LGBT community. Author Ira Trivedi, who would be in the city later this month, tells dna how India in Love was stitched together. I believe this book was in the making for four good years. How did you go about planning how you would move around the country? What about logistics? Yes, it did...

Climate change research is set to receive a boost with the Royal Norwegian Embassy giving a grant of Rs 14 crore to city-based environment research institute and think-tank, Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE). ATREE is also to get a Rs 5 crore corpus from philanthropist Rohini Nilekani. “The infusion of new resources will enhance ATREE’s work on climate change, biodiversity conservation, and environmental governance and policies,” said Kamal Bawa, ATREE president...

It took five years of painstaking work since the time he embarked on his project, to finally seeing the translated work in print. And when acclaimed Marathi writer Ranjit Desai's celebrated novel on painter Raja Ravi Varma hit the stands, it was gobbled up in no time. The translated work was in English, and the one who hit on the idea was engineer-turned-writer Vikrant Pande. He now lives in Bangalore with his family, and the city and its weather being what they are, Pande doesn't feel the need...

It's not just the spectre of developing cancer itself which is scary for India; it's state of cancer care in the country that is more ominous. And there are reasons to feel scared, outlines a major study on cancer care in India that is being released on Saturday. One of the reasons for the excessive burden of deaths from cancer in India is the existence of huge gaps between the demand and supply for cancer care: 95 per cent of the medical colleges in India do not have comprehensive cancer care...

Now that the unbridled frenzy over Earth Hour – the most-hyped annual event the world perfunctorily celebrates – has petered out, it is time to look at the tokenist event through a prism of sanity. When one talks of the world with a future in mind, it is important not to miss the big picture. Unfortunately, in spite of the unquestionably noble intention behind Earth Hour, it has degenerated into a mindless and ritualistic bash. It is a “lights out” carnival that keeps people in the dark about...

The ability to cast a ballot is often a given. But can one make the entire voting process a bit more pleasant? How can we encourage more people to cast their votes? Are there more efficient ways that can be introduced to improve voting practices? Can 'service design' play a role in this? A leading design company, Tata Elxsi, feels there is enough scope. Narendra Ghate, chief designer (service design) with the company, has some ideas and some solutions. These can be seen as recommendations for...

It's taken him more than 30 years to chronicle the experiences he underwent as a strapping, young IAS officer. It had anyway been a long haul for him from the beginning itself, quite literally at that — from getting his bags packed in home Kerala to travelling all the way to farflung, landlocked Manipur. The year was 1978, and insurgency was not yet so virulent in that Northeast state. C Balagopal had cleared the civil services exams, and had been drafted into the Manipur cadre. In the three...

The United Nations climate panel seems condemned to the same inescapable fate as Cassandra of Greek mythology was. It has the power of prophecy, and the curse of never being believed. For close to 25 years, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has been documenting climate change and predicting the consequences of insatiable human over-consumption and reckless depredation of the environment. Except for scientists and activists in the know and understanding of things, the...

The Global Decade for Road Safety is in its fifth year, but things remain as dismal and bloody they were. Experts believe that the focus needs a paradigm shift from 'what can be done' to 'who ought to do what' for things to change. With some 15 agencies/departments/ministries being involved in the process for instance in a place like Karnataka, the time has come for a wholesome sectoral and planning integration. The need of the hour is one of evidence-driven approaches, says G Gururaj of NIMHANs...