Capturing currents

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressing the high level ministerial segment at the 14 th  Conference of Parties of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in Noida near New Delhi on Monday 9 th  September 2019:  Photo credit: Angeles Estrada IISDENB By Malini Shankar,  Digital   Discourse   Foundation  New Delhi: 9.09.19 India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi today called for urgent political action to boost ground water conservation and replenishment while addressing the high level ministerial segment at the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification’s (UNCCD) 14 th Conference of Parties in Noida near New Delhi today. Mr. Modi pledged to restore an additional five million hectares of degraded land in India by 2030, raising the land to be restored in India to 26 million hectares. The pledge to restore degraded lands is part of India’s commitment to achieve land degradation neutrality, a flagship initiati...

COP 14  of the UNCCD inaugurated  By Malini Shankar  ( Digital Discourse Foundation). New Delhi 2.09.19  Welcoming the global gathering at the inauguration of the 14th Conference of Parties of the United Nations’ Convention to Combat Desertification in Noida’s India Expo Mart on Monday 2 nd September 2019   India’s Environment Minister Prakash Javdekar said India has now presumed the presidency of Conference of Parties of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification. In his inaugural address Javdekar declared that India has increased forest cover to 24% of the landmass in the last five years. But he left it to Minister of State in the Ministry of Environment Forests and Climate Change to deal with facts of neutralising land degradation and increasing forest cover in India.  Further, spelling out the geological reasons for land degradation including “earthquakes, landslides, drought floods,” and anthropogenic factors inc...

Full Transcript of India’s Environment Minister Prakash Javdekar’s inaugural speech Friends I welcome Ibrahim Thiaw Executive Secretary UNCCD, my ministerial colleague Babul Supriyo and delegations who have come from all over the world. I welcome you in this beautiful city of Delhi Actually this is Noida a city which is very near Delhi as it is a suburb but it is in Uttar Pradesh. But welcome. You will find Delhi very interesting. And you will also move around and enjoy the city because that much time you will have in between. Ladies and Gentlemen I will extend heartfelt welcome to all dignitaries on the Dias, and participants addressing this occasion today at India Expo Mart in Greater Noida from today to 13 th September. As I told you Delhi is ancient city with tremendous history that has seen many dynasties and empires. It is therefore a multicultural and cosmopolitan city. Let me inform you that because of its history it has more than 1000 monuments marking the histories of m...

Digital Discourse Foundation 24.10.18 The sanctioned murder of critical Saudi journalist, a commentator for the   Washington Post, Jamal Kashoggi inside the Saudi Arabian Consulate in Istanbul, Turkey on 2.10.2018 comes as a rude shock to observers and even more cruel to his kith, kin and fiancée. That the brutal crime was officially sanctioned by the Saudi royals makes the crime all the more savage, unexpected, unthinkably cruel and unpardonable in the day and age of internet powered transparency. The price Jamal Kashoggi had to pay for his constructive criticism of the totalitarian Saudi regime has only manifested the worst fears of human rights activists. It was the very lack of reforms that prompted Kashoggi to flee his country in the first place to use his pen for reform. His worst fears have manifested so cruelly on him. To think of the emotional cost on his divorced wife and children is gut wrenching. Kashoggi’s son had the unenviable task of greeting S...

What is the point of bail after conviction that too in a wildlife crime? The black buck is listed as Schedule 1 species in India's Wildlife Protection Act 1972 - highlighting its critical conservation status © Pixabay By Malini Shankar, Digital Discourse Foundation April 22 nd 2018 22 nd April every year is being marked as World Earth Day for the past two decades or so. Some would argue that it is another day for cynical lip service to causes like the Environment. The ground reality hardly ever changes despite the unparalleled reach and impact of electronic media that wires the entire world today. Indian actor Salman Khan was convicted on 4 th April 2018 for hunting and killing two black bucks back in 1998. But he secured bail barely 48 hours after conviction on 6 th April 2018. Conservationists fear that it sets a very bad precedent as it is a manifestation of the lack of political will for execution of the stringent provisions of the Wildlife Protect...

In this concluding piece in this series journalist Malini Shankar makes a series of constructive suggestions hoping these will be incorporated by the Indian Railways. After reaching your train car, finding your seat and settling in for the journey, often you have to pull down the bunkers for the night’s journey. But think of the PH passenger who might not be able to pull down the sleeper / couch for the night’s sleep. Computerised reservations means PH passengers do not always get the lower berth.  Differently abled passengers have to depend on co passengers (if they are unaccompanied single travellers) for help to pull down the iron ropes that keep the sleep couch in place and also to exchange upper berths. It might be better for cabin attendants of the Railways to be trained to cater to the needs of the PH passengers whose needs vary depending on the nature of the disability. Thus it helps to have one train car solely for the use of PH passengers. Such a car should have tr...

Indian Railways Incompatibility to terminally ill patients and PH passengers article - Part 3 Apart from physically challenged persons there are passengers with other kinds of disabilities who need special treatment on Indian Railways. As of now mentally retarded persons with escort are eligible for concessions on both seasons’ tickets and 1st and 2nd class tickets in passenger trains in both mail and express trains; these concessions are also available on the elite Shatabdi and Rajdhani trains. They also get 25% concession in 3rd AC and AC chair car in all inclusive fares of Shatabdi and Rajdhani trains – except Durantho and Garib Rath trains. “In Durantho and Garib Rath trains concessions are not available because the fares are low in any case” F. R. Michael Senior PRO South Central Railway Vijayawada Division clarified.  Concessions are also available for Thalassemia, cancer patients, TB patients, heart patients who get 75 % concession in 1st class and 75 % in sleeper ...