Infrastructure Debt Fund

India has emerged as one of the fastest growing economies during the past decade. However, infrastructure development has not kept pace with the growth in the rest of the economy. Realizing this, India initiated an ambitious reform programme in all infrastructure sectors. The Government has taken several initiatives to promote private sector participation in the infrastructure sector as a result of which the share of GDP going into infrastructure investment has increased from 5% in 2007 to 7% during 2009-10 and has increased to more than 8% in 2011-12. For the XII Five Year Plan (2012-2017), the target of infrastructure investment has again been doubled to US $ 1 trillion 50% of which is envisaged from the private sector.

Hacking into Hawking’s brain

Scientists are working with Stephen Hawking to test a groundbreaking device to allow them to ’hack’ into the brain of the world-famous British physicist, who has been unable to speak for the last 30 years.Seventy-year-old Hawking has been working with scientists at Standford University of the US who are developing iBrain — a tool which picks up brain waves and communicates them via a computer, the Daily Mail reported.

Finding NEEMO: US aquanauts train for asteroid mission

The name of the NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations (NEEMO) project has a rich history in underwater exploration, from the fictitious submarine commander Captain Nemo to his talking clownfish namesake in the 2003 animation. But the NEEMO project is looking to the future, training astronauts of the US space agency for a possible mission to an asteroid.

BIS Finalizes Standards for Street Food Vendors

Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has finalized an Indian Standard on basic requirements for street food vendors as food safety is a major concern with street foods. This was disclosed by Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Prof Thomas at Mumbai yesterday .He said that street food sector has shown phenomenal growth recently. Readily accessible and affordable to urban populations, street food provides the energy and nutrient needs to large segments of workers and their families in the cities. This sector is also a source of livelihood for a large number of people. Hence the standard developed by BIS has immense potential to safeguard public health and also promote the confidence of the consumer over the entire spectrum of food industry.

Rio’s unfinished agenda

At a time when the headline issues are economic growth and financial crises, few countries would willingly commit themselves to new treaties and conventions. Unsurprisingly, therefore, a significant occasion such as the Rio+20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development produced no new binding agreements that could ensure the future well-being of the world’s natural capital and its people. Rio’s unfinished agenda is to measure human well-being and sustainability using a good set of tools, rather than a narrow metric such as GDP, and reach a consensus on development. Obviously, any measure that does not fully calculate the cost of present development to future generations is flawed. The Rio+20 conference in Brazil failed to measure up to this task. It was bigger than its predecessor summit, but achieved less. Twenty years ago, the Rio Summit produced Agenda 21 and its major principle of common but differentiated responsibilities for the rich and poor countries in dealing with environmental and development imperatives. That this foundational principle is retained in the Rio+20 outcome document “The future we want” provides some hope that equitable approaches will continue to guide global efforts.

Opinion - Expanding strategic partnership - India-US relations

The June 13 U.S.-India Strategic Dialogue left some commentators in both countries complaining that there was less to it than met the eye. We disagree: it seems to us to have finally — almost by stealth — begun shifting the U.S.-India conversation toward something that deserves the name “strategic,” centred on policy consultations on the world beyond South Asia.

India-Pak Foreign Secretaries to meet on July 4

Foreign Secretaries of India and Pakistan will hold talks in New Delhi on July 4-5 to discuss peace and security, including Confidence Building Measures and Kashmir.As part of the second round of resumed dialogue process between India and Pakistan, Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai will hold talks with his Pakistani counterpart Jalil Abbas Jilani.