In the recent past, we have witnessed several devastating earthquakes in different parts of the world, including a few developing countries as well as some developed countries.

Between India Shining and Jai Ho, through four years of high growth that India became the story of global markets, not much has changed on the ground, it would seem. Between aspirational Indians vying for better and richer lifestyles, there are millions still below the poverty line.

India trails badly on the human development indicators. Illustration: Saurabh Singh

Until August 2005, Indira Colony was a veritable slum on the outskirts of Hoshiarpur, Punjab. An unplanned locality that came up in 1985 on the low-lying bed of a seasonal rivulet, it was perennially beset with squalid conditions, potholed streets, overflowing drains and garbage.

The theme of the 2009 India Today Conclave,

Gujarat is the first state that has realised the implications of global warming with Chief Minister Narendra Modi floating a new ministerial portfolio for climate change. It is a portfolio that does not exist even in the Union Government yet.

Awards have been the norm of the day for the little Himalayan state of Sikkirn under the able guidance of its visionary chief minister, Pawan Chamling. The Nirmal Gram Purashkar 2009,4th JRD Tata Memorial Award for health achievement 2009, Emerging Tourism State 2008, Most Picturesque Destination 2007 are only a few feather's in the cap worn by the dynamic leader.

Mumbai: While Maharashtra reels under a power crisis, Mumbai citizens are doing their bit to save electricity. The 200-m long walkway along the newly-renovated promenade at Bandra

Lalgarh when translated means

Recession is the inlikeliest of times to launch cars, especially luxury models with formidable price tags. But the czars of India

Dig the well before you are thirsty, goes an old Chinese proverb. And Maharashtra