International Year of Rice The United Nations has launched a major international drive to increase the production of rice—the staple food for more than half the world’s population. Under the motto “Rice is Life”, the United Nations is sponsoring an international drive in 2004 to increase the production of rice, the staple food for about half the world’s people. Today, rice feeds nearly three billion people, or almost half the world’s...

Interlinking of Rivers Water is essential for human existence and propagation of all biotic life. India ranks fifth in the world after Zaire, Russia, Canada and the United States in potential water power resources. But mere possession is no reason for celebration. There are some concerns regarding presence or absence of water as floods and droughts occur at the same time in different parts of the country. There are some disputes...

Political Stability in Economic Development The relation between political conditions and economic development has been a matter of debate. Economists in the past, particularly in the initial years of industrialisation, believed that political factors did not influence development. Economic development was merely considered a function of economic factors. However, a fresh school of thought emerged, particularly after the Second World War that believed that economic development was, to a large extent,...

Mask of The New Imperialism Imperialism is back with a bang. However, unlike old imperialism that was quite visible since it was based on military power and was territorial in nature, the new imperialism is based on soft powers like democracy, globalisation, mass media, etc. Consequently, it is non-territorial in nature and invisible in its operation. It is, however, no less deadly and deplorable like its earlier avatar. In the past,...

Centre State Relations The Constituent Assembly, in the Objectives Resolution adopted on Jan. 22, 1947, declared the Assembly’s firm and solemn resolve to make India Independent Sovereign Republic, where in the States shall possess and retain the status of autonomous units. By July 1947, the question of partition was resolved with the fulfilment of the demand for Pakistan. Hence, the provision for autonomy to the States was dropped in favour of...

Disaster Management The Dec. 2004 tsunami disaster on the south east coast of India has underlined the need for more prompt and efficient disaster management by the administration. Disasters are not welcome events and when they occur, every effort must be made to reduce the impact of such events. What is the role of civil servants in managing and possibly reducing the negative impacts of disasters? Despite the existence of different...

Technique of Essay-Writing Essay-writing is an intelligent exercise. It requires knowledge of the factual data as well as the mental grasp and literary acumen to present it in a clear and lucid style. The word `essay’ means ‘to attempt’. Essaying on a subject implies testing or examining it. According to the definition given in the Oxford Dictionary, an essay is a literary composition. It is usually prose in nature and precise...