Economy
Nothing to celebrate
But the carnivals and competitions cannot take away the bitterness associated with child labour. The 1991 Census estimated the number of child workers in India as one million. However, non-Government organisations working in the field put the figure at 1
11 million. The Government has decided to carry out a head-count of child labourers in its 2001 Census, but whether it will be accurate is doubtful, as child workers come from a predominantly floating population.
Playing `poor' politics
RECENTLY, a minister, in all seriousness, announced that wheat would be given away to the poor, as the Food Corporation of India was surfeit with buffer stocks. He talked of channelling the wheat through the people's elected representatives for distribut
ion among the deserving. Another minister argued that as poor farmers use kerosene and diesel, their prices should be hiked to a lesser extent than those of petrol and aviation turbine fuel.
Editorial
Biosafety Protocol
CONSIDERING THE CONTINUING controversy on the issue of genetically modified organisms (GMOs), it is clearly in the nation's interest that the Government should sign the Biosafety Protocol, also known as the Cartagena Protocol.
Miscellaneous
Money mad
THERE is no reason why people should be shocked over the fact and scale of the scandal involving cricketers who once were worshipped as if they had descended from heaven.
Politics
Thoughts on the American election
P. R. Brahmananda THANKS to the media and, more particularly, to the probingly thorough CNN, we are getting an amazingly intensive feedback on various aspects of the election for the American Presidentship. The Florida recount, especially, has attracted
world attention. A number of interesting and important issues are in focus because of the narrow margin between Al Gore and George Bush in the Florida voting results.
Jharkhand: Born amid mayhem
Jharkhand's Chief Minister-elect, Mr Babulal Marandi, has said that the areas which will receive his government's immediate attention will be roads, electricity, education, industrial development, law and order, and justice for all. He has
got his priorities right. But the big test will be whether he can put them into practice.
Technology
Cost-effective building materials
FLYASH is the waste thrown out by thermal power plants, and usually piles up as huge dumps in the vicinity of such plants. Though the thermal plants are located far away from the cities, the huge volume of output -- both static at the sites, and borne on
the air due to the winds -- are posing a serious threat to the environment.
