THE INTERNATIONAL aid organisation, Oxfam, wants Western governments to evolve a Marshall plan to tackle the problem of poverty in sub-Saharan Africa and prevent 9 million people in the region

FEARS that oil demand would decline because of a US-proposed energy tax have been expressed by delegates at a meeting of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). The Clinton

The finance minister"s targets for restructuring -- lower fiscal deficit, stronger economic recovery and higher exports -- form the core of his latest budget.

Budgetary provisions aimed at giving a fillip to industry, will add to the burden on the country's resources.

The budget seeks to encourage technological change in India, especially in export-oriented industries, and to obtain private funding for government R&D institutes.

THE BUDGET gives only marginal, if any, benefits to public-funded research and development, though it opens the door to private funding of this sector. The overall S&T budget of Rs 3,903 crore is

Foreign buyers of Indian carpets insist that if child weavers are employed, they will not accept the product. The Indian government and manufacturers must now find a way out to protect a multi crore industry.

FOR SEVERAL centuries, Udaipur has been renowned for the exquisite use of marble in its magnificent palaces. But it was known only recently that the city rests atop the world's largest marble