India, a victim of e-waste crime

"Exporting e-waste to Asia worked out 10 times cheaper than processing it in within these countries."

Much of the 40 million tonnes of electronic waste produced around the world — old smartphones, TVs, laptops and obsolete kitchen appliances — finds its way illegally to Asia and Africa every year, says a report by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

Close to 90 per cent of the world’s electronic waste — worth nearly $19 billion — is illegally traded or dumped each year, to destinations half way across the world. While the European Union the U.S. and Japan are the primary origins of e-waste shipments, China, India, Malaysia and Pakistan are the main destinations, says the report. In Africa, Ghana and Nigeria are the biggest recipients of e-waste.

Destination India

Illegal trade is driven by the relatively low costs of shipment and the high costs of treatment in the developed countries. Quoting an U.S. Environmental Protection Agency study, the UNEP report says that exporting e-waste to Asia worked out 10 times cheaper than processing it in within these countries.

The Indian subcontinent has turned into an important destination for European waste. This goes beyond e-waste to include household waste, metals, textiles and tires — which are exported to India and Pakistan, says the report “Waste Crimes, Waste Risks: Gaps and Challenges in the Waste Sector.”

“There is a significant trade in compressors to Pakistan. These should be depolluted prior to export, but waste operators seeking to avoid expense often omit this step,” the report notes.

‘Toxic time bomb’

The vast majority of illegal e-waste ends up in landfills, incinerators, and in ill-equipped recycling facilities. “The waste is dumped in areas where local residents and workers disassemble the units and collect whatever is of value... What is not reusable is simply dumped as waste, creating immense problems and leading to what has been described as a ‘toxic time bomb’.”

While Europe and North America are by far the largest producers of e-waste, Asia’s cities are fast catching up as consumers of electronic goods and as generators of e-waste. In China, for instance, 73.9 million computers, 0.25 billion mobile phones, and 56.6 million televisions were sold in 2011, the report says. Forecasts say that in just two years, the total quantum of e-waste generated around the world will be 50 million tonnes.

Keywords: United Nations Environment Programme, electronic waste, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Many women have no say in marriage”

Four out of ten women in India still have no say in their marriage, eight out of ten need permission to visit a doctor, six out of ten practise some form of head covering, and the average Indian household gives over Rs. 30,000 in dowry. These are among the findings of a major new large-scale sample survey shared exclusively with The Hindu.

The National Council for Applied Economic Research (NCAER) conducts the India Human Development Survey (IHDS), the largest household survey in India after the government's Nation Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) surveys, and the NCAER is the only independent body that conducts such large-sample panel surveys. The survey covers economic data on income and expenditure, development data on education and health, and sociological data on caste, gender and religion. For the next two weeks, The Hindu will report exclusively on the key findings of NCAER's latest round that covers 2011-12 data. This survey covered 42,000 households across the country, weighted nationally, and 83% of them were also interviewed for the 2004-5 round of the IHDS.

The data shows that India has made progress in child marriage, with 48% of women over 25 reporting in 2011-12 that they were married before the age of 18 as opposed to 60% in 2004-5. The average number of children that women (over 40) reported they had had has also come down slightly to 3.55, indicating that fertility is falling. The practice of marrying a cousin or relative – more common in the south than the north – is becoming less common, but over 20% in Andhra Pradesh and Karnata still marry relatives.

However, women's autonomy remains severely constrained. 41% of women had no say in their marriage and just 18% knew their husbands before marriage, a statistic that has not improved. Women's say in marriage rose with their level of education, with income and with level of urbanisation and the southern states did better.

Just 10% said that they could take the primary decision to buy large items for the house, less than 20% had their names on the house's papers and 81% needed permission to visit a doctor. 60% of women – including 59% of forward caste Hindus and 83% of Muslim women – practised some form of `purdah' or `ghunghat'. Over half of all women said it was common for women in their community to be beaten if they went out without permission.

"Those of us in the women's movement and in progressive groups have been saying right from the beginning that instead of focussing on instruments of security like the police alone, there needs to be a transformation inside the home, in schools, in communities," Suneeta Dhar, director of the women's rights group Jagori told The Hindu.

The average Indian family gives over Rs. 30,000 in cash as dowry and 40% admitted to giving large items like TVs and cars as dowry. The practise of giving large items as dowry was most common among forward caste Hindus and lowest among Muslims. Wedding expenses ranged from nearly Rs 1 lakh in the poorest village to Rs 1.7 lakh in small cities, a big jump over the 2004-5 survey. Kerala and Delhi had the most expensive weddings.

Keywords: National Council for Applied Economic Research, women marriage, large-scale sample survey, Nation Sample Survey Organisation, India Human Development Survey, NCAER survey

May 18 2015 : The Economic Times (Delhi)

Steady Progress in India-China Ties





There was no reason to expect huge breakthroughs

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's high-profile visit to China has broadened the base of people-to-people contacts between the two nations, improved economic ties and marked time, as has become usual in Sino-Indian interactions, on the border dispute. While some military cooperation and China's promise of support for India's entry into some Asian security and economic fora have been promised, China remains non-committal on Beijing's support for India's membership of the UN Security Council or of the Nuclear Suppliers Group. And the language on the geostrategic implications of India and China cooperating with each other, while high on the rhetoric on an Asian century , is vague on how the promised mutual respect for each other's interests will interface with India's commitment to pursue, along with the US, common interests in the South China Sea. Commonality of interests by outside powers in China's close neighbourhood is, more often than not, conflict of interests from Beij ing's point of view.New Delhi would appear to have got around the traditional objections, on security grounds, to Chinese invest ment in India's infrastructure by id entifying discrete bits of infrastruct ure, particularly in the Railways, that can absorb Chinese investment. This is welcome. So is the agreement reached to improve market access for pharmaceutical and farm exports. The most visible outcome of the visit is likely to be an increase in tourist arrivals from China. State governments would do well to spruce up their preparedness to accommodate growing armies of Chinese visitors to the places of historical significance in their region.
China has resolved its boundary problem with Russia and entered into major economic deals with that neighbour. It should, in principle, have no major problem in reaching accommodation with India as well. It is India that has to take a realistic view of the simple-enough proposition that give and take in a border negotiation will mean some `give' and prepare the political ground to avoid collisions between reality and hyper-nationalist rhetoric.

Vedanta - Practice and Be Relaxed

SENSEI SANDEEP DESAI





T'ai Chi is a mindful practice, an ancient, internal martial art, which gives you a feeling of success and accomplishment. It helps you find out how to slow down instead of always going faster and harder. Slowing down can mean you look at things calmly . Don't fly off the handle. T'ai Chi can positively affect every aspect of your life, including your physical and mental health, your view of the world and the way you interact with others.Considered a cultural treasure in China for centuries, T'ai Chi is the culmination of martial art, traditional Chinese medicine and Taoist philosophy that is concerned with life on earth and works on the premise that the softest things in the world over come the har dest things.
A typical T'ai Chi session consists of `Embracing the Tree' that allows you to feel your body and the chi and its movement. Also, it helps you to become aware of any tension in the body , which you can release by letting your breath go to the spot.
Put a little T'ai Chi practice into practically everything you do. Sink a little and do some abdominal breathing when stuck in a line at the bank or grocery store. Instead of pulling the door with your arms, pull the door open by shifting your weight. You can try mini-meditation while the phone is on hold.
Practice yielding and you'll be amazed to see how relaxed you feel and how much more efficient in life you become.

Indian-origin professionals most successful in UK: Study

London: PTI





People of Indian origin are most likely to be in elite professional and managerial roles in Britain, a study based on official census figures has found.According to a detailed analysis of the 2011 census, Indians are the most successful ethnic minority group with 15.4% found in class 1 of eight occupational groups, comprising higher managerial, administrative roles as well as professions like doctors and lawyers.They are followed by those of Chinese origin at 12.8%, The Sunday Times reported.
However, if students are excluded, the figures rise to 17.8% for Indians and 19.1% for Chinese, while men from Indian and Chinese backgrounds are almost twice as likely as their white British counterparts to be in higher managerial jobs.
By contrast, just 6.6% of all Pakistanis and 4.2% of Ban gladeshis make it into class 1.For black Africans and black Caribbeans the proportion is 7.5% and 6.2% respectively , and for those of mixed race it is 10.3%. Ethnic minorities fare particularly well in health care, with 41% of doctors coming from an ethnic minority , particularly Indian or those classed as other whites.
The study , to be officially released later this week to coincide with the launch of the Demos Integration Hub (DIH), also found almost half of Bangladeshi men worked in restaurants and a quarter of Pakistani-origin men were taxi drivers.

Einstein's letters on God, religion may be sold for $40,000 each

Los Angeles: PTI





Rare and intimate letters from physicist Albert Einstein, including two that reflect his views on God and religion, are set to fetch between $15,000 to $40,000 each at an US auction.The assemblage of over 25 lots of documents and memorabilia which is up for auction encompasses personal handwritten autograph letters from Einstein to his family including sons Hans Albert Einstein and Edouard Einstein, and his ex-wife Mileva Maric in addition to others.
The letters show his thoughts (and theories) on the atomic bomb, theory of relativity , his impactful ideas on God and religion, in addition to a highly notable letter stating he will “not be returning to Germany , perhaps never again“ once Hitler reached power.
“We have amassed an extremely magnificent group of personal and profound handwritten Einstein letters covering a vast amount of subject matter,“ said Joseph Maddalena, president and CEO of Profiles in History , which will auction the letters on June 11.
“These letters depict his inner most views, offering intriguing content as only Einstein can, this collection is an embodiment of the physicist life's work,“ Maddalena said. Leading the collection are two substantially significant letters regarding Einstein's thoughts on God and religion.
The first letter dated July 1945, to Mr Guy H Raner Jr states, “From the viewpoint of a Jesuit priest I am, of course, and have always been an atheist.“ It is expected to fetch over $15,000.

WHO: Under-5 mortality down 50% since 1990

Sushmi Dey

New Delhi:





Almost half the child deaths worldwide are still caused due to under-nutrition despite substantial progress made to reduce under-five mortality , a new report by the World Health Organization (WHO) secretariat has said.Between 1990 and 2013, under-five mortality declined by 49%, falling from an estimated rate of 90 deaths per 1,000 live births to 46 deaths per 1,000 live births.The global rate of decline has also accelerated significantly, from 1.2% per annum between 1990 and 1995 to 4% per annum between 2005 and 2013. About 17,000 fewer children died every day in 2013 than in 1990.
“Despite the evidence of progress, the gains remain insufficient to reach the target of a two-thirds reduction from 1990 levels of mortality by the year 2015,“ the report, which will be released during the 68th World Health Assembly to be held from May 18 to 27 in Geneva, said.
The report also pointed to at the slower decline in neonatal mortality rate and its increasing proportion in total under-five deaths. In 1990, neonatal deaths accounted for 37% of the total under-five children deaths, and the share increased to 44% in 2013.
The observations are significant with 22% of the total under-five deaths occurring in India. Estimates show that in 2013, over 15 lakh underfive children died in India.
Child mortality is also high in Nigeria, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Pakistan and China.
However, the report observed India's efforts to control deaths due to diarrhoea and pneumonia, which contribute almost 24% of the total under-five deaths.
The annual Health Assembly , a supreme decisionmaking body of WHO, will be attended by delegations from 194 WHO member countries, who will review activities of WHO through the year and set priorities for the future.This year, India has assumed presidency at the global event after a gap of 19 years.
The report, titled `Monitoring of the achievement of the health-related Millennium Development Goals', lists other issues such as maternal mortality , people suffering from hunger, reproductive health as well as spread of HIV.