Policy Wise

Environmentalists instinctively reject or ignore technological solutions to global warming because they are bent on making people atone for their sins. Their ridicule of geo-engineering reveals that, for them, climate change is a moral tale about humanity’s greed and arrogance, where the happy ending is a much-reduced human population where everyone lives simply and meekly. [...]

With the booming demand for MBAs , increasing number of doctors are enrolling themselves in management schools,
Having admired themselves in surgical gowns, medical students now want to don business suits and lend surgical precision to business strategies. Booming corporate sector and demand for domain specialists has got doctors and medicine graduates smitten by management [...]

An interesting new paper in the The Journal of Americal Medical Association argues that teaching villagers about services availability can improve health outcomes. The researcher conducted a cluster randomized control trial in 100 village clusters in U.P. First a baseline survey was conducted which found no siginificant differences in health outcomes across the villages. This [...]

A new company, supported by online giant Ebay, would allow small investors to provide microloans starting from as low as 50$.
The key to microlending, says Turner, is that it fosters self-reliance and, eventually, sustainable economic growth in a way that charity does not. What’s more, lenders stand to receive small financial benefits in the form [...]

A new report by Pricewaterhousecoopers makes an interesting revelation: Women may be doing better in business in developing countries than in the developed world,
Samuel DiPiazza, global head of PwC, said: “The cultural and societal norms and perceptions in developed countries are much deeper and long-lasting, especially when it comes to business.
“In some countries such as [...]

Foreign policy carries out an interesting exercise and lists the world’s healthiest countries. And yes there is a surprise too. No, America is certainly not on that list!
Quite naturally, it’s not exactly an objective exercise. They haven’t even bothered to list the criterion.

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With huge investments by private donors including The Bill and Milinda Gztes Foundation, there has been renewed focus on anti-retroviral treatment for HIV+ patients in Africa. However, a new study reports that the retention rate for such treatment is low.
They found that two years on from the commencement of treatment, only 61.6% of all [...]

On policy Wise, we have frequently discussed the issue of biofuels with Jatropha frequently projected as the best alternative. Now Maharastra has taken the lead among Indian states and wants to use Public-private model to encourage farmers to plant Jatropha.

To meet the growing need for biofuel to save fast depleting natural fuel resources and clean [...]

World Bank, after complaints launched by an Ohio based doctor is sending two consultants to India to evaluate HIV kits. It is being alleged that National AIDS control organization (NACO) is using substandard testing kits which give false-negative results,
 The bank has poured hundreds of millions of dollars into India through programs intended to prevent the [...]

By any yardstick, primary education is a fundamental right while higher education is a privilege. While a case could be made that higher education is beneficial to the society at large, primary education must be a greater priority. It is an illustration of India’s governance failure that exactly the opposite is true in India. As [...]