Full Coverage: India

30.06.2007 India’s water man and Magsaysay Award winner Rajinder Singh is busy rallying people on the banks of river Yamuna that flows through Agra -- the city of the Taj Mahal -- to stand up for their water rights by protecting river Yamuna from pollution and “from being handed over” to multinational corporations.

29.06.2007 A recent study by a consultancy firm in India notes a drop in English language online browsing to 41% among its 30 million net users. More than half the Indians who use the net live outside its metropolitan cities, in Tier II and Tier III cities. The use of Open Source Software has helped internet and telecom penetration into smaller towns.

29.06.2007 Greenpeace has proved that faulty designs, inadequate insulating material and poor maintenance in prominent buildings in India - the Mumbai Stock Exchange, the National Stock Exchange, the American Centre in New Delhi and some iconic hotels - are resulting in excessive energy leakages. From: Greenpeace India

29.06.2007 Dozens of villages have been flooded; houses, fields and trees have disappeared under water and people have became landless, since the government of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh closed the gates of the Omkareshwar dam in the Narmada valley. Support the demands of the people in the Narmada Valley by sending the letter to the Chief Minister of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh for adequate compensation and rehabilitation for the people.

29.06.2007 The mid-point to the 2015 deadline, 07.07.07, for meeting the Millennium Development Goals is just around the corner. NGOs worldwide are gearing up to press governments for faster action. In India, the UN Millennium Campaign and other civil society organizations are pushing the ruling UPA government to meet the MDG targets.

28.06.2007 The Strengthening Rural Credit Cooperatives Project of the World Bank supports the Indian Government programme to reform and revitalise the country's rural Credit Cooperative Banks (CCBs) by making them efficient and commercially-viable institutions that also are responsive to the financial needs of the Indian farmers.

28.06.2007 The government of the south Indian state of Kerala has made it clear that discrimination against people living with HIV/AIDS will not be tolerated and has readmitted HIV-positive children who were dismissed from a school in December 2006.

28.06.2007 Concerned over the massive industrialisation planned for Indian state Orissa, environmental campaigner Greenpeace is alarmed over an Indian steel major's move to set up a mega port in Dhamra in Orissa's coastal Bhardrak district, saying it would be an 'ecological destruction' in the state's coastal areas.

27.06.2007 Recipient of this yearÂ’s Nirmal Gram Puruskar for 100% sanitation coverage, this village in RajasthanÂ’s Alwar region is paving the way for achieving the Millennium Development Goals

27.06.2007 Delhi based NGO Toxics Link has urged the Indian government to phase out the usage of mercury in the country after the European Union Parliament banned mercury trade. India being the second largest user and importer of the heavy metal, at the same time time it has serious public health implications in the country.

26.06.2007 This anthology, edited by Rehana Ghadially, throws light on the contextual realities of urban Indian women in a most comprehensive manner. It presents a view of the Indian women's movement – past and present – as it responds to a range of issues (including those related to identity, globalisation, media, ICTs and political participation) in the pre and post liberalization eras. It is recommended for students and academics in women's studies, political science, sociology, psychology, ICTs, media studies and development.

26.06.2007 Street vendors in India have been protesting against corporates entering retailing of fruits and vegetables as they fear this will deprive them of their livelihood. The protests, which turned violent in many cities, are against the government as vendors find it more sympathetic to the corporates than them.

26.06.2007 Nearly 50,000 street children and youth from underprivileged neighbourhoods get birth certificates in a vital initiative launched by UNICEF, government agencies, NGOs and the Kolkata Municipal Corporation that provides them with access to health care, education and other services. Registration also helps protect children against potential abuse.

26.06.2007 To commemorate the International Day against Drug Abuse, PVR Nest in India, in association with United Nations (Office of Drug and Crime) and the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment is organising a play on prevention of drug abuse titled 'Mission Possible'. The play will be presented by Barry John's troupe "Imago" on 26 th June, 2007 at PVR Priya, New Delhi, India at 5:30 pm.

26.06.2007 "Caste-Based Reservations and Human Development in India" by K.S. Chalam analyses one of the most contentious issues of our times – caste-based reservations, one which has seen tragic, needless deaths and riots and has torn the country apart into protagonists and antagonists.

25.06.2007 It was on the cards. With Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announcing the formation of a new rehabilitation policy for farmers displaced from land acquisitions, it is now official, says Devinder Sharma: farmers have to quit agriculture.

25.06.2007 Communities as diverse as manual scavengers, people with disabilities, Gujarat riot survivors, indigenous groups, HIV positive people, children out of school and sex workers from across India assembled to discuss a range of human rights issues at the National Conclave – Towards A people's Alliance organised by ActionAid India.

24.06.2007 An all-India symposium on agriculture crises and the FarmersÂ’ Commission will be held at the Institute of Development Studies, Jaipur on 26th June 2007. It will be partnered by Oxfam InternationalÂ’s South Asia Trade and Agriculture Campaign.

24.06.2007 The Indian governmentÂ’s cash initiatives are sweeping a healthy competition across the country, says Jaipur-based activist Kalyan Singh Kothari. The Nirmal Gram Puruskars are part of the Total Sanitation Campaign (TSC) that hopes to achieve full sanitation coverage in India by 2012.

21.06.2007 Radio stations across India are bringing a diverse selection of world music to their listeners on Thursday, World Music Day, but is anyone interested?
From: RadioandMusic.com