Pyrrhic Victory

Posted on August 30, 2008 by Ravleen

The US steals Kamal Nath’s party in Geneva

The trade talks at the World Trade Organization headquarters in Geneva collapsed in the last week of July. The Union minister for Commerce, Kamal Nath, said India would not accede to the demands of developed countries at the cost of Indian farmers. Nath seems to have become a hero in many quarters in the country and in other developing countries—and a villain amongst developed countries for allegedly scuttling free trade negotiations. But in reality, he has virtually complied with all conditions of the wto agriculture text, including almost zero farm subsidy reduction by developed countries. And the talks actually collapsed because the us did not want to make any commitment to cut massive subsidies to cotton growers. Continue reading →

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On Tenterhooks in Geneva – Developing countries push for markets at WTO Mini-Ministerial

Posted on August 14, 2008 by Ravleen

Developing countries push for markets at WTO mini-ministerial

Farmers’ associations all over India were holding protests demanding exclusion of agriculture as an agenda in the World Trade Organization (wto) talks, even as the organization’s mini-ministerial debated ways to secure “meaningful market access in agriculture, manufacturing and services”. At the time this magazine went to press, farmers’ groups were apprehensive that the Union minister for commerce might sign a deal at this meet in Geneva allowing the entry of cheap agricultural products from the developed world. “That would be the last nail in the coffin of small farming in India,” said Sheelu Francis of the Tamil Nadu Women’s Collective, an organization representing over a lakh agriculture workers in the state.

The draft for negotiations for the Geneva ministerial—the third draft on the matter—did not accede to most demands of developing countries, the principal one being substantial cuts in subsidies offered to farmers in the us and European Union. These subsidies end up lowering prices of agricultural products in the developed countries below the production cost of farmers in developing countries, giving the former unfair market advantage. Continue reading →

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Shelf Destruct – Government study kicks up the Supermart vs Small Store debate

Posted on July 14, 2008 by Ravleen

Government study kicks up the supermart vs small store debate

At a time when efforts are being made in the West to bring back small retailers into the mainstream, the Indian government has come up with a study that lauds the role of big retail chains. It claims that the growth of supermarts in India will not harm street vendors and small shop owners, and will only spur a healthy competition in the retail sector.

“Both unorganized and organized retail are bound not only to coexist but also achieve rapid and sustained growth. Both will see a massive scaling up of their activities. In fact, the retail sector, left entirely in the unorganized and informal segment of the economy, could emerge as a major bottleneck to raising productivity in agriculture and industry,” states the study, Impact of Organized Retailing on Unorganized Sector, commissioned by the Department of Industries Planning and Promotion, commerce and industry ministry. Continue reading →

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Just a Lament – Pollution in Yamuna

Posted on July 14, 2008 by Ravleen

Biking along the Yamuna from Delhi to Agra, Ravleen Kaur hears constant calls for saving the river, but witnesses little action. Photographs by Vaibhav Raghunandan.

The roaring of motorcycles shattered the early morning calm on the Yamuna floodplains in Delhi. On World Environment Day on June 5, a group of professionals, farmers, activists and journalists gathered for a bike rally along the river at the Yamuna Satyagraha site, where a bunch of farmers and activists have been campaigning against the construction of the Commonwealth Games Village on the riverbed for over 300 days.

As the river drifted into Faridabad its burden of sewage and industrial waste kept on increasing and the spectacular failure of the Yamuna Action Plan began to unfold. In Dhadhasiya, 40 km from Delhi, a sewage treatment plant (stp) of 20 million litre per day capacity sprawled over 7 hectares made a great showpiece of the plan, but it was shut down for upgradation. Untreated sewage was being discharged into the river. “Who is interested in knowing where their daily muck is going?” said the stp contractor with a shrug. Even when the plant functions, it treats the sewage only partially. In not even one place we visited, stps were functional. Continue reading →

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15 Rules Of Life In Delhi

Posted on June 23, 2008 by Ravleen

Today I got this interesting mail from one of my friends with 15 Rules about Living Life in Delhi.
Delhi is known for its multi-ethnic culture. Anyone can survive in Delhi by hard or easy way.

  1. The Other Side Law:
    If my side of the road has a traffic jam, then I can start driving on
    the wrong side of the road, and all incoming cars will be rerouted via
    Meerut.
  2. The Queue Nahin Rule:
    If there is a queue of many people, no one will notice me sneaking
    into the front as long as I am looking the other way.
  3. The Mind Over Matter Law:
    If a red light is not working, four cars from different directions can
    easily pass through one another.
  4. The Auto Axiom:
    If I indicate which way I am going to turn my auto rickshaw, it is an
    information security leak.
  5. The In Spit Of Thing:
    The more I lean out of my car or Continue reading →
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Videos showing Small Scale Production of Biodiesel

Posted on June 18, 2008 by Ravleen

Here is a good video showing you how you can make or Produce your own Bio-Diesel on a small scale if you have a small space or a garage at you disposal.These type of videos are a huge hit and in great demand at times of soaring oil and gas prices at 140$/barrel for crude.

People in India and world should learn these tricks and ways as it is very likely that oil prices will touch the skyscrapers in the times to come.

This is only a part of shows that tell you how to make Bio-Diesel .You can watch full series
here.

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Ten Difficult Ways to Save the Environment

Posted on June 16, 2008 by Ravleen

So here is a list of 10 difficult (easy with practice) steps that you could learn and follow to make the environment green and friendly.

  1. Take a bus and leave your car home. Don’t ever drive an SUV (sports utility vehicle). Say no to diesel cars.
  2. Junk bottled water. Demand clean water for all.
    Insist water-free and as a right which is entitled to everyone but be ready to pay more if you use more.
  3. Use less water, to discharge sewage.Think of the poluted river,every time you flush.
    Insist your colony recycles its waste-water, even reuses it after treatment.
  4. Demand justice for both tiger and poor tribal people who coexist in the habitat
  5. To make your beautiful home green, harvest rain, use water saving toilets, segregate garbage and compost kitchen waste.
    Use CFL bulbs and solar hot water heaters.
  6. Impose economic sanctions against US for rogue climate behaviour .
  7. Do not use any product which uses plastic to pack food or other stuff. This will put pressure on manufacturers to make recyclable packaging.
  8. Levy a global “greenwash service” tax on Corporates. Make them fully liable for products that damage the environment today or tomorrow.
  9. Do not first adopt wasteful and environmentally bad habits and then become GREEN. Think of the last parson. Do not first buy processed food and then ask for organic and home made food. Do not firs eat junk food and then go on a diet. Enjoy biodiversity in food and lifestyle. Boo MCDonalds.
  10. Use less of everything that you use in your daily life.Not greed of some, but need of all is the only way ahead.

This post is dedicated to world environment day 2008
Download the copy of this article in pdf here.

Posted in Environment, Livelihood, Natural Environment, Save environment | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

RTI (Right To Information) Assessment

Posted on June 14, 2008 by Ravleen

An 85-year-old lady was having problems getting her passport. She needed it to go and live with her children abroad. The status, the website showed, was delivered. Visits to the passport office yielded little results. “We helped her draft a right to information (RTI) application. When the department concerned was informed of the application, she got the passport immediately,’ says Shekhar Singh of National Campaign for People’s Right to Information (ncpri), Delhi. But not all RTI applications are as smooth and appeals against disclosures are common. The RTI Act, which came into existence three years ago, is now undergoing a review of its performance. Here too, the issue has triggered a debate on the agency conducting the appraisal.

The department of personnel and training (DOPT) under the Union Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions has commissioned international accounting firm PriceWaterhouse Coopers the responsibility to review the RTI Act 2005. Activists say the study may end up protecting government officials. They are conducting a parallel study on how far the RTI has been able to keep up its mandate of providing timely response to “citizens requests for government information’. Continue reading →

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