The pollution of Betwa river figured prominently in the election campaign in two constituencies in Madhya Pradesh, but was ignored in the worst hit villages.

Hemmed in by intensive agricultural and industrial activity, pastoralists are finding less room to carry on their activities. This could upset the delicate balance of agricultural ecosystems.

In Rajkot district village, pastoralists trade manure for fodder and sustain a healthy way of farming.

Critics have condemned the World Bank's new information policy, as a mockery of the basic rules of informed public debate and environmental review of projects.

HIV bringsscience down on its knees

Most researchers are concentrating on genetic engineering to devise an AIDS vaccine, which would be effective against all strains of the human immunodeficiency virus.

If a way to contain AIDS is not found, HIV may infect about five million people in India by the turn of the century.

Many animal rights activists consider that all research carried out with animals is indefensible. This would apply especially to research with chimpanzees. I assume that chimpanzees are the closest relatives to humans and that they deserve ethical considerations which are similar to those accorded humans. Nevertheless, I believe that it is ethically justifiable to carry out certain types of experimentation with this species, as it is also with humans. I welcome the opportunity to defend this position here.

Industrialists in Agra and Firozabad are in a tizzy about the Supreme Court's order to close down more than 200 polluting industrial units near the Taj Mahal.

The Gloria Land farm in Pondicherry and another run by a couple in Karnataka, show natural inputs can effectively replace factory produced fertilisers and pesticides.