Inflation is going through the roof but if you are poor and a resident of Andhra Pradesh, you are not likely to feel the pinch. It's not because of Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy's ability to rein in prices, but because of his penchant for unabashed electoral populism. The relaunch by the Congress Government of the subsidised rice scheme

Haryana power utilities will spend Rs 239 crore for reforms in power sector in Gurgaon by 2011.

In the wake of the panchayat elections scheduled for next month, a visit to a village in South 24-Parganas will acquaint one with the picture of neglect. "If we boycott the vote, can we get electricity and a crematorium next year?' asked Mr Uttam Munda, who lives in Kumarpukur village under Kheyada I gram panchayat. Nearly 150 families have been living in the village without electricity for the last 20 years.

It looks a bit like the coolers used to keep drinks fresh on a sunny day but the chill box being tested in sweltering Mozambique serves a higher purpose -- saving lives from malaria. The new cool box is intended to keep malaria medicines at 25 degrees Celsius (77 degrees Fahrenheit) or below in impoverished rural areas without electricity where temperatures can reach 45 degrees Celsius. As the world marks Malaria Day on Friday, its developers hope the cool box will help save some of the one million lives lost to malaria worldwide every year -- 6,000 of them in Mozambique alone.

China plans to build a major emissions-free coal burning power station by 2015, the project chief said on Wednesday, putting it at the front of a tight global race to build the first commercial scale plant. GreenGen president Su Wenbin said he has escaped the funding and planning problems that have delayed similar ventures in the US and Europe because tackling climate change is a top priority for Beijing. "In China our system is different. When we decide to do something we can just push on with it...we know we will get government support," he told Reuters in an interview.

The world's third-largest uranium producer, Energy Resources of Australia, expects future demand for the fuel to remain strong thanks to growing need for electricity. ERA, which is majority owned by Rio Tinto, produced almost 10% of the world's uranium in 2007 from its Ranger mine in the Northern Territory.

Its electricity and water heating is wholly powered by photovoltaics, it uses recycled and energy efficient construction materials, and it is extensively equipped with water conservation equipment. Campaigners hope all new homes in California will be powered solely by renewable energy like the SOLARA development (Copyright Community HousingWorks) The SOLARA development in California, which officially opened last year, is what green campaigners hope will become the model for all new homes in the state.

Weary of the scorching heat, buffalos stream in towards the Padma River to quench their thirst and have a relishing bath. The persisting heat wave, coupled with power load shedding and water crisis have disrupted life in northern districts. The hear wave may continue a couple of days more, weather men said yesterday. The mercury rose to 39.4 degrees Celsius in Rajshahi while humidity in air was recorded at 12 per cent yesterday, sending people on streets panting for water and cool air.

More cross-border energy deals are in the pipeline

Chandigarh, Apr 18 In order to ensure adequate power during the summers and ensuing paddy season, in the first meeting of steering committee for power planning (SCPP), chaired by Ashok Lavasa, financial commissioner & principal secretary (power), key issues like demand, availability, shortfall and arrangements to procure electricity from all possible sources were discussed,