The department of science and technology has initiated public debate on ways to stimulate the country's stagnating research and development activity.

• Accessibility of technology to all segments of society, upgrading of traditional skills. • Waste prevention, lower raw material consumption, preventive pollution control. •

In 1992, the world moved several steps towards globalisation. But little attention was paid to the sharp economic, social and cultural divides. The rich world, troubled by recession, did not show much courage in dealing with them as it, too, began to feel

Faced with the century's worst recession Helsinki has had to cut back heavily on development aid. At stake are several international environmental projects.

A severe tug of war between the North and the South preceded the unanimous acceptance of the Rio declaration

• Human beings are at the centre of sustainable development. •States have the sovereign right to exploit their own resources. • The right to

DEVELOPMENT has two sides, as Sudipto Sarkar of the People United for Better Living in Calcutta told the Calcutta High Court recently. The court is hearing a case against the proposed reclamation