Of the nations participating in the Doha Climate Change Conference, India holds an unenviable distinction—it faces what is probably the greatest challenge to electricity access in the world.

Cost of solar power may equal to that of conventional energy by 2014: Study

If India’s conventional power sector, particularly coal-based thermal power projects, has found itself squarely stuck under the long shadow of governmental inefficiencies and suspect allocation mechanisms, there is a drastically different story unfolding in the country’s solar energy sector. The rising cost of conventional power, largely driven by increasing raw material exports and the growing cost of establishing greenfield projects, alongside a steady decline in solar power prices — mostly a function of a sharp reduction in the prices of solar photo voltaic (PV) modules — could result in solar projects reaching grid parity by 2014, a new study by KPMG has suggested.

60% Indian respondents not happy with govt?s direction, finds Pew Centre study situation no better in rest of the world, either

There are now figures to back the frustration. The sentiment of disappointment sweeping through the country — as the government falters on delivering promised growth, undertaking key reforms and implementing its agenda for inclusive growth — is not just real but has, in fact, worsened over the last year. Nearly 60 per cent of Indians today, up from 47 per cent last year, are dissatisfied with the direction in which the country is headed, the Pew Global Attitudes Project's 2012 spring survey has revealed. With 77 per cent putting the blame for the mess squarely at the doors of the government.

NMDC, whose presence in Bailadila predates the Naxal problem, now pours money into security and faces issues of despatching the ore

India’s finest iron ore deposits rise abruptly from the forest floor — 32 km of undulating massiveness, four km wide and over 1,260 metres above sea level at its highest point. From the densely wooded plains of Chhattisgarh’s Dantewada district, its swelling shape resembles an ox’s hump, prompting the tribes who have lived under its shadow for centuries to name it ‘Bailadila’.

GAIL India says it has big plans for the fast-emerging shale gas sector.

Raghuram Rajan India