![Slumping research](/files/images/19970131/stat2.jpg)
Slumping research
A lot of debate over Indian science & technology (s&t) is focused around funding. Currently, India spends about 0.8 per cent of its gross national product on s&t, down from almost one per cent
A lot of debate over Indian science & technology (s&t) is focused around funding. Currently, India spends about 0.8 per cent of its gross national product on s&t, down from almost one per cent
The year 1995 saw a rise of 1.8 per cent in global energy consumption, the highest annual growth rate since 1989 and more than double the average rate of the past five years. The main boost came
Nearly 82 per cent of ozone depleting substances (ods) responsible for most of the harm done to the ozone layer are anthropogenic in nature, related to the West's consumptive lifestyle. If their
In the last two decades, the number of persons affected by disasters increased at the rate of six per cent per year, which corresponds to three times the annual population growth. There were nearly
There are still many countries, mainly in Africa, where more than 30 per cent of women give birth to their first child before the age of 18. The maternal death rate is three times higher for teenage
The Indian Ocean is the only place where fish availability has not reduced, unlike all other oceans, which have seen a massive depletion of stocks due to vacuum fishing practices involving factory
It was a year of surprises. Nineteen-ninety-five was the hottest year and showed an anomaly of 0.4
Although considerable progress has been made towards the complete eradication of polio by the year 2000, the fact remains that polio cannot be eliminated anywhere unless it is eliminated everywhere.
Transport is an essential human activity and has a critical role in social development. But the environmental costs of this energy-intensive sector are also critical. It generates 20 per cent of
The urban population is rapidly growing the world over. Cities draw migrants with the promise of higher living standards, but this does not necessarily translate into prosperity for all. Answers
The re-emergence of infectious diseases has become a matter of global concern; about 17 million of the 52 million deaths last year were classified as owing to infectious diseases. Changes in
Industrial advancement has no doubt improved the standard of living of human beings, but in the process the crucial environmental balance established by nature over a millenium has been inadvertantly
The origin of greenhouse gas emissions is an important issue in relation to the need for devising policy options to minimise potential global climate change and its impacts. The best known of the
Travel and tourism is the world's largest industry, transporting more than 528 million people internationally, employing 211.7 million people, and generating US $322,000 million in receipts in 1994.
The future looks dim, literally. Over the next generation, electricity demand threatens to outstrip production capacity; The North and almost all central European nations will have to work against
If producing cultural products, such as books, newspapers, movies or radios, reflects a nation's degree of progress, then the developing world trails far behind. And the gap has decreased only
Is your electricity supply regular? Is your drinking water free of germs? Do your telephones work smoothly? These questions would evoke a unanimous No from most of us. It is now a widely held
A large number of developing countries are economically dependent on tobacco export and a major proportion of their gross national product, government revenue and employment comes from tobacco
Deadly pesticides pose a serious hazard to the environment in the developing world. These countries continue to import banned pesticides from the West. At least $72.5 million of 12 banned pesticides,
In a worldwide search for sustainable development, the energy sector seems to be a viable target for radireform. Even in the dominant coal-fired power industry, much thought has gone into