Opinion

Opinion        01/12/2018                 1578. SUB : Report of the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel - Part II : Actionable points for the WGEA : 2.6 Organized Industry REF : 2.6 Organized Industry 2.6 Organized Industry : The importance of the industrial sector in the Indian economy has risen over the years. The contribution of industries to the gross domestic product (GDP) has improved along with a rise in the share of employment in the secondary sector. The new economic policy with its package of globalisation, liberalisation and privatisation changed the entire scenario of the Indian industrial sector and a sharp rise in foreign investment is now being seen. The Western Ghat states are also coastal states, and as such have always attracted industries given the access to ports and water. In more recent times they have been important investment destinations. In the decade since 2000, their share of these states has been 53% of the total Foreign Direct Investment (F

Opinion        28/11/2018                 1574. SUB : RECENT SC VERDICT AND THE COMMUNISTS LEAD LDF GOVERNMENT : 12. 1. Sabarimala is a Hindu temple complex located at the Periyar Tiger Reserve in Kerala, India, considered to be one of the holiest in Hinduism. 2. It is the largest annual pilgrimage in the world with an estimated 17–30 million devotees visiting every year. 3. Some estimates put the number of annual visitors as high as 50 million. 4. The temple is dedicated to the god Ayyappan also known as Dharma Sastha, who according to belief is the son of Shiva and Vishnu. The traditions of Sabarimala are a confluence of Shaivism, Shaktism, Vaishnavism, and other Śramaṇa traditions. 5. Maha Vishnu is identical to the formless metaphysical concept called Brahmam, the supreme, the Svayam Bhagavan, who takes various avatars as "the preserver, protector" whenever the world is threatened with evil, chaos, and destructive forces. 6. His avatars most n

Opinion        27/11/2018                 1573. SUB : Report of the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel - Part II : Actionable points for the WGEA : 2.5 Forests and Biodiversity REF : 2.5 Forests and Biodiversity 2.5 Forests and Biodiversity Our nation is evidently at a crossroads today, with grave misgivings on continuing with business as usual. This then is an appropriate juncture at which to undertake a fresh assessment of the forestry–biodiversity sector from a scientific perspective. The spirit of science is captured well in J D Bernal’s (1939) definition that ‚science is an organized enterprise of scepticism‛. Professor Satish Dhawan, who served as Secretary, Space Department of Government of India from 1972–1980 was such a true scientist. He was very skeptical of the claims of the forestry establishment that as much as 23% of the country’s land was under forest cover. So he asked his colleagues in the Space Department to undertake an independent assessment with