Technology and road traffic management in cities.

Relevant data: As per a report by Boston Consulting Group, traffic congestion during peak hours in four major cities — Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Kolkata — costs the economy Rs 1.47 lakh crore annually.The anticipated average journey speeds in major corridors in major cities are expected to reduce from about 12kmph presently to less than … Continue reading Technology and road traffic management in cities.

Summary – The Hindu – Available, accessible, but not stable

Authors: Shalini Iyengar and Balakrishna Pisupati The right to food is a well established principle of international human rights law. It has evolved to include an obligation for state parties to respect, protect, and fulfil their citizens’ right to food security. Our current understanding of food security includes the four dimensions of access, availability, utilisation … Continue reading Summary – The Hindu – Available, accessible, but not stable

Plastic Problem and associated dimensions.

Plastic is clearly an environmental crisis, with an estimated eight million animal-killing tonnes entering the oceans each year. Relevant data: In the last 70 years, 8.3 billion tonnes of plastic have been produced. Of the 8.3 billion tonnes of plastic produced, 6.3 billion tonnes have been discarded. Every year, nearly 13 million tonnes of plastic waste … Continue reading Plastic Problem and associated dimensions.

The role of pollinators.

Across India’s agrarian plains, plantations and orchards, millions of birds, bats and insects toil to pollinate crops. However, many of these thousands of species may be in dangerous decline. How do pollinators help agriculture? Pollinators lead to huge agricultural economic gains. The annual economic value of the crops pollinated by animals worldwide is estimated to … Continue reading The role of pollinators.

The Emergence and Importance of ‘Prakrit’ in Ancient India

Around 6th century BC, people of India were speaking and writing languages that were much simpler than classical Sanskrit. These vernacular forms, of which there were several, are called the Prakrits. The word Prakrit stands for a group of languages and does not refer to any individual language. Marathi (with all varieties), Bengali, Orisa, Assamese, … Continue reading The Emergence and Importance of ‘Prakrit’ in Ancient India

The Office of the Governor

The origins of the office of Governor Through the course of the early 20th century, the Indian nationalist movement managed to extract gradual and incremental reforms towards responsible government from the British rulers. These reforms culminated in the Government of India Act, 1935 which established provincial legislative assemblies elected from a limited franchise. However, in order … Continue reading The Office of the Governor