Bal Thackeray (1926-2012) ruled through fear and violence and commanded the loyalty of Shiv Sainiks, who did not mind his inconsistencies. A MAN of contradictions who practised the politics of convenience: many people would consider this an appropriate epitaph for Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray. Of course, many would disagree, saying that his brand of politics struck a chord in [...]
The U.S., which sold weaponry worth $66.3 billion in 2011, dominates the global arms bazaar, and its allies in the West Asian region are the most militarised countries in the world. THE United States’ arms sales have increased significantly this year, according to the latest data released by American official sources. The annual survey by the U.S. Congressional Research Survey [...]
India’s investment abroad is overwhelmingly in the form of direct investment and this has been growing rapidly. The export of capital is a sizeable fraction of the foreign direct investment infl ow over the last six years. Shortcomings in the regulatory environment allow the end use of investments abroad to remain mostly opaque. While there is a keen debate on [...]
Persons with Disabilities are valuable human resources for the country and the need is to create an environment that provides them with equal opportunities, protection of their rights and full participation in society. The annual observance of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities on 3rd December was established by the International Year for Disabled Persons 1981. The Day aims to promote a [...]
Getting to Zero: Zero new HIV infections. Zero deaths from AIDS-related illness. Zero discrimination” is the theme of World AIDS Day 2012. Given the spread of the epidemic today, getting to zero may sound difficult but significant progress is underway. In 2011, 2.5 million people were newly infected with HIV. An estimated 1.7 million people died. That is 700 000 [...]