Exclusive Breastfeeding is important for six months

Op-ed on Breastfeeding published in Swatantra Bharat.

August 7, 2007

Exclusive Breastfeeding for Six Months is Important

Op-ed on World Breastfeeding Week Published in Voice of Lucknow.

August 5, 2007

Japani Encephalities

Op-ed on Prevention and Cure on Japani Encephalities, Published in Swatantra Bharat.

August 14, 2007

'Female Farmer and their Helath'

See the indepth op-ed on 'Female Farmer and their Helath' published in Swatantra Bharat.

August 14, 2007

News- Tobacco board chief paints rosy picture

News- Tobacco board chief paints rosy picture

The Siasat Daily

July 12, 2007

Rajahmundry, July 10: The Central Tobacco Research Institute’s research committee meetings were inaugurated here on Monday at CTRI complex. M. Mahadevappa, former Chairman of Agricultural Scientists Recruitment Board, in his inaugural speech said that the tobacco research has its importance in view of the global scenario.
Tobacco Board chairman J. Suresh Babu, who is the chief guest, said that the crop size as well as the average price of Indian tobacco was on the rise this year. Foreign exchange earnings were Rs. 1,713 crores and total excise revenue earnings were Rs. 9,100 crores.
“Our research efforts should be directed towards finding a breakthrough for SLA farmers who are at disadvantageous position. Fuel saving techniques and water conservation methods should be priority areas in research,” he said.
CTRI director Veeeranki Krishnamurthy gave a power-point presentation on various issues related to tobacco. He said that India retains its position as the third largest producer of tobacco and third largest exporter of FCV tobacco in the world. The KLS tobacco tops in average price and NLS tobacco tops in productivity with 1,950 kg/ha.

online available at - http://www.siasat.com/english/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=193105&Itemid=63&cattitle=Andhra%20Pradesh

Tobacco curbs: India leads alternative crop plan

Tobacco curbs: India leads alternative crop plan

By- Bobby Ramakant
Rediff Business News
4 July 2007

Today -- two days before the 148 nations' meet on global tobacco treaty comes to an end in Bangkok -- India demonstrated leadership on behalf of countries in South-East Asian Region to integrate agricultural diversification and alternative crops to tobacco in the comprehensive tobacco control as FCTC proposes. Framework Convention on Tobacco Control is the first global corporate accountability and public health treaty in the world.
The 2000 report of the World Health Organization Committee of Experts on Tobacco Industry Documents reveals transnational tobacco corporations' strategy to make prominent use of the International Tobacco Growers Association. The report continues, "ITGA claims to represent the interests of local farmers. The [tobacco corporations'] documents, however, indicate that tobacco companies have funded the organization and directed its work. Through their persistent outreach to officials from developing countries, these companies gradually built a support within UN agencies and structures, most notably the World Health Assembly and Food and Agriculture Organization."
Though transnational tobacco corporations like Philip Morris/Altria, British American Tobacco and Japan Tobacco use sophisticated public relations machinery to claim that tobacco-related agriculture creates jobs and boosts economic development, the facts speak otherwise. Transnational tobacco corporations have created a supply system that exploits farmers while assuring growth in corporate profits. In February 2007, the Ad-hoc Study Group on Agricultural Diversification and Crop Alternatives to Tobacco of FCTC held its first session in Brazil.
Tobacco industry attempts to interfere in agricultural diversification:
Transnational tobacco corporations have supported and sustained a production system that has undermined human health and stifled human development. Therefore, in keeping with WHA Resolution 54.18 and FCTC Article 5.3, these corporations should not be at the table discussing alternatives to tobacco production.
Acting as a mouthpiece for the tobacco industry, ITGA and its country chapters have spread misinformation and attempted to influence tobacco growers in countries such as Brazil , Argentina , India , South Africa , Zimbabwe, Malawi and Kenya as a strategy to slow down or block ratification and implementation of the FCTC. The chief executive of ITGA spoke on behalf of eight government and non-governmental organizations at the public hearing on agricultural diversification and alternative crops to tobacco held in Brazil in February 2007, claiming to represent governments and farmers, while neglecting to reveal ITGA's connection to the tobacco transnationals.
Tobacco corporations' involvement in Brazilian tobacco control policy is especially troubling. Brazil's sectoral chamber for the tobacco production chain includes representatives from Souza Cruz (British American Tobacco's Brazilian subsidiary), the association of Brazilian tobacco growers (an arm of the International Tobacco Growers Association with its own well established ties to BAT), and Brazil's ministry of agriculture, among others. The chamber provides a direct forum for tobacco industry representatives to meet formally with members of government about tobacco control policy, in violation of Article 5.3 of the FCTC. As the world's second-largest producer of tobacco, Brazil provides a powerful case study on the dangers of creating space for the tobacco industry in deliberations about tobacco control.
The social and economic failures delivered by the production system engineered by transnational tobacco corporations make it incumbent upon governments to implement Article 5.3 of the FCTC fully -- which includes shielding their efforts to develop alternatives to tobacco-intensive agriculture from the transnational tobacco corporations that have a vested interest in maintaining the current failed system.
In this regard, the working group on social and economic challenges for tobacco alternatives and crop diversification noted, "the tobacco industry may have influence on regional policymakers and legislators, and on the regional agricultural policy."
Support to farmers and tobacco growing countries is vital.

Only five of the 125 tobacco exporting nations derive more than 5 per cent of their export from tobacco. These five nations are concentrated at the bottom of UNDP's 2006 Human Development Index: Uganda , Zimbabwe , United Republic of Tanzania, Malawi , and the Central African Republic . Far from being a path to prosperity, tobacco production paves the way to poverty.

Tobacco corporations, their subsidiaries and affiliates should play no role in decisions related to agricultural diversification because, as highlighted by the study group, the industry's definition of diversification differs fundamentally from that of the public health community.

It is vital that the FCTC find ways to support the farmers, agricultural workers, and communities that have grown dependent on a tobacco economy. These nations suffer development set-backs as a result of their tobacco production.

Wealthy countries that have chartered, assisted and benefited from the international expansion of tobacco transnationals bear a responsibility to make transition away from tobacco-dependent economies viable. FCTC urges developed countries to channel resources, based on specific requests, to developing countries for implementation of the convention.

FCTC should also advance proposals for debt relief for farmers tied to transnational tobacco corporations through the current financing system, and communicate clearly about phased transitions that support farmers and build their trust in tobacco control measures.

Online at: http://www.rediff.com/money/2007/jul/04tobacco.htm

MDG Goals at the mid point of fifteen years

Indepth op-ed on MDG's Goals at the mid point of fifteen years, published in Jansatta, on June 29, 2007.

By- Amit Dwivedi

Award for Anbumani

Award for Anbumani

2 July, 2007

NEW DELHI: The World Health Organisation (WHO) has conferred the Director-General’s Special Award to Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Anbumani Ramadoss for his outstanding contribution to tobacco control. The Award is given annually to mark the World No Tobacco Day.

According to WHO, the Award is a “global recognition of the dynamic leadership” of Dr. Ramadoss under which India took rapid strides in tobacco control.

His efforts and determination in banning tobacco usage scenes and surrogate tobacco advertisements in films and television have been widely commended by the global community.

Dr. Ramadoss has initiated the pilot National Tobacco Control Programme which integrates multiple measures to reduce tobacco use, especially among rural populations.

According to S.J. Habayeb, WHO representative to India, Dr. Ramadoss’ contributions are not limited to India, but have spilled over both regionally and globally.

“His leadership has encouraged many countries in the South East Asia region and elsewhere to develop and adopt comprehensive tobacco control measures,” he said.

online available at :-http://www.hindu.com/2007/06/29/stories/2007062955501500.htm

International Drug Abuse Day

Indepth op-ed published in 'Voice of Lucknow' India's National News Paper on International Day for Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking

By- Amit dwivedi

26 June, 2007

Court dismisses Bachchan's petition in cigar case

Court dismisses Bachchan's petition in cigar case

Times of India

26 June, 2007

PANAJI: A sessions court here has dismissed the revision application filed by the Amitabh Bachchan Corporation Limited challenging the order by a judicial magistrate to initiate action against Amitabh Bachchan in connection with a hoarding which showed the actor with a cigar in his mouth. National Organisation for Tobacco Eradication (NOTE) had filed a case against Bachchan, ABCL and D M S Films Private Limited and Anchor Daewoo India in connection with the hoarding erected on the national highway.

The hoarding had a photograph from the movie "Family". The judicial magistrate had summoned Bachchan and other respondents on November 29, which was challenged in the sessions court. NOTE had alleged that such hoardings were in gross violation of the cigarettes, tobacco and other related products (prohibition of advertisement and regulations of the trade and commerce, production, supply and distribution) Act and section 7 of the Goa Prohibition of Smoking and Spitting Act.

ABCL had said in the sessions court that, pending the hearing and disposal of its revision application, the process issued by the judicial magistrate should be stayed.

It had also sought ad-interim exparte relief. In the revision petition, ABCL had claimed that there was no prima facie case and the magistrate ought not to have issued process against it and Bachchan, who is the chairman of the company.

online available at- http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Court_dismisses_Bachchans_petition_in_cigar_case/articleshow/2151148.cms

International Drug Abuse Day

Indepth op-ed on International Drug Abuse Day Published in Swatantra Bharat Indias national news paper.

June 25, 2007

By- Amit Dwivedi

Alert to protect global tobacco treaty

Alert to protect global tobacco treaty

Thursday, 21 June 2007,

Alert to protect global tobacco treaty before COP-II begins in Thailand

by Bobby Ramakant Thailand

The 2nd Conference of Parties (COP-II) meeting for Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) – the first global public health and corporate accountability treaty ( New Zealand ratified FCTC on 27 January 2004) shall begin at the end of this month in Thailand .

Corporate Accountability International (CAI, formerly Infact) has played a key-role as civil society watch organization along with Network for Accountability of Tobacco Transnationals (NATT) from the very initial discussions of World Health Organization's FCTC. It continues to play a pivotal role in monitoring tobacco industry and gathering evidence to protect the public health. At the forthcoming COP-II meeting in Thailand, CAI is releasing a ground-breaking report which compiles evidence from civil society members across the world in outlining the three major issues impeding the FCTC implementation. These three public health challenges are:

To protect public health policy from tobacco industry influence
To prevent tobacco industry interference in agricultural diversification and alternative crops to tobacco
To ensure full-funding of FCTC implementation programme
There is an emerging powerful consensus among health advocates and public officials around the world that the tobacco industry should have no influence on public health policies. The World Health Organization's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) enshrines this concept in international law.

Article 5.3 of the FCTC obligates Parties to "protect these [public health] policies from commercial and other vested interests of the tobacco industry." Allowing tobacco corporations to influence tobacco control policy violates both the spirit and letter of the FCTC.

Unfortunately, Big Tobacco's interference in health policy continues to be one of the greatest threats to the treaty's implementation and enforcement. Philip Morris/Altria, British American Tobacco (BAT) and Japan Tobacco (JT) use their political influence to weaken, delay and defeat tobacco control legislation around the world. While the industry claims to have changed its ways, it continues to use sophisticated methods to undermine meaningful legislation.

Transnational tobacco corporations have supported and sustained a production system that has undermined human health and stifled human development. Therefore, in keeping with WHA (World Health Assembly) Resolution 54.18 and FCTC Article 5.3, these corporations SHOULD NOT be at the table discussing alternatives to tobacco production.

Acting as a mouthpiece for the tobacco industry, ITGA (International Tobacco Growers Association) and its country chapters have spread misinformation and attempted to influence tobacco growers in countries such as Brazil, Argentina, India, South Africa , Zimbabwe, Malawi and Kenya as a strategy to slow down or block ratification and implementation of the FCTC. The Chief Executive of ITGA spoke on behalf of eight government and non-governmental organizations at the Public Hearing on Agricultural Diversification and Alternative Crops to Tobacco held in Brazil in February 2007, claiming to represent governments and farmers, while neglecting to reveal ITGA's connection to the tobacco transnationals.

Tobacco is the world's leading cause of preventable death—killing five million people per year. The generous commitment by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg marks a major change in the landscape for global tobacco control. Mayor Bloomberg's $125 million gift represents four times the 2006-2007 biennial budget of the World Health Organization's Tobacco-Free Initiative.

* Tobacco control advocates in priority countries should tap into this funding for their policy, media and monitoring initiatives. Both governments and NGOs can apply.

* All countries benefit when the cycle of dependence on tobacco is broken, and tobacco control policies have been shown to be good for the world's economies. The World Bank estimates that high-income countries spend up to 15% of their health care budget to treat tobacco-related illnesses. In 2002, China spent $3.5 billion on healthcare costs attributable to tobacco. If these costs were reduced just 20%, China could afford to hire more than half a million additional primary school teachers.

* Wealthy countries that have chartered, assisted and benefited from the international expansion of tobacco transnationals bear a responsibility to make transition away from tobacco-dependent economies viable. Political realities in the developing world also make assistance pragmatic, and could help speed up implementation of the treaty. Japan paid $87 million in 2006 to support WHO, more than any other nation. Yet Japan 's support of WHO represents only 10% of its share of Japan Tobacco's annual profits.

79% of the world's tobacco was sourced in developing nations in the late 1990s, up from 52% four decades earlier. However, countries that have most aggressively embraced tobacco production have not seen advances in their development. Only five of the 125 tobacco exporting nations derive more than 5% of their export income from tobacco. These five nations are concentrated at the bottom of UNDP's 2006 Human Development Index: Uganda (ranked 145 of 177 nations); Zimbabwe (which derives nearly a third of its export income from tobacco and ranks 151 of 177); United Republic of Tanzania (ranks 162 of 177); Malawi (which derives more than half of its export income from tobacco and ranks 166 of 177); and the Central African Republic (ranks 172 of 177). Far from being a path to prosperity, tobacco production paves the way to poverty.

Let's hope that these three concerns raised by the evidence-based report to be released by Corporate Accountability International ( http://www.stopcorporateabuse.org/) at COP-II in Thailand later this month, shall get due attention.

*************
Bobby Ramakant
(Bobby Ramakant is a senior journalist and member of Network for Accountability of Tobacco Transnationals (NATT). He can be contacted at: bobbyramakant @yahoo.com)

Condition of Crop Insurance in UP

Indepth op-ed on Condition of Crop Insurance in UP, Published in 'Voice of Lucknow' India's National news paper.

June 19, 2007

By- Amit dwivedi

Female Farmers and their health

Indepth op-ed female farmers and their health. Published in voice of Lucknow India's National news paper.

By- Amit Dwivedi

june 13 2007

Bollywood and Tobacco

Bollywood and Tobacco- Indepth op-ed published in Swatantra Bharat on the mark of World No Tobacco Day.

By - Amit Dwivedi

Tobacco Corporations are misleading

Indepth op-ed on World No Tobaco Day published in Kashi Varta on Tobacco Corporations are misleading.

June 1 2007

By- Amit Dwivedi

Female Farmers and their Health

Indepth op-ed article on Female Farmers and their Health, published in Swatantra Bharat.

June 6, 2007

By - Amit Dwivedi

Female Farmers and their Health

Indepth op-ed article on Female Farmers and their Health, published in Swatantra Bharat.



June 6 2007



By- Amit dwivedi

Women won't wait

Women won't wait
Susana Fried Open Democracy
6 June 2007
***********

"IT IS DANGEROUS TO SEPARATE THE FIGHT AGAINST HIV/AIDS AND THE STRUGGLE FOR WOMEN's HEALTH AND RIGHTS"It is dangerous to separate the fight against HIV/Aids and the struggle for women's health and rights, Susana Fried warns the G8. The German presidency of the G8 has made fighting HIV and Aids in Africa a priority for the Summit at Heiligendamm this week.

Leaders of the world's wealthiest countries have committed to supporting HIV/Aids prevention, treatment, and care, with the goal of coming "as close as possible" to universal access to treatment by 2010. But these lofty promises have not yet translated into dedicated funding to address a major and prevalent driver of the pandemic - the deadly intersection of HIV/Aids with violence against women and girls.

To state the obvious - violence against women and girls is a big contributor to death and illness among women, as well as to a host of human rights abuses. Moreover, gender-based violence, and particularly intimate partner violence, is a leading factor in the increasing "feminization" of the global Aids pandemic. Simultaneously, HIV/Aids is both a cause and a consequence of the gender-based violence, stigma and discrimination that women and girls face in their families and communities, in peace and in conflict, within and outside of intimate partnerships, and by state and non-state actors.

Yet agencies continue to treat HIV/Aids and violence against women and girls as separate issues - so that not only are efforts to address violence as a cause and consequence of HIV infection under-funded, but also the strategic imperative for integrating these efforts continues to suffer from a dangerous and dysfunctional split. Rather than comprehensively addressing this deadly intersection, national and global Aids responses continually fail to grapple with its implications.

The discrimination and abuse faced by same sex desiring and gender non-conforming individuals is captured by the term "heteronormativity". This term is used to encompass practices used to enforce "normal" (men as 'masculine' – read assertive and in control, and women as feminine – read passive and docile) heterosexuality. Cathy Cohen has defined heteronormativity as the practices and institutions "that legitimize and privilege heterosexuality and heterosexual relationships as fundamental and "natural" within society" (2005: 24). Her work emphasizes the importance of sexuality as implicated in broader structures of power, intersecting with and inseparable from race, gender, and class oppression.

See alsoThe roots of the problem--------Women and girls are at persistent risk of attack. According to the recent World Health Organization (WHO) multi-country study on violence against women, in 13 of their 15 study sites, one-third to three-quarters of women had been physically or sexually assaulted by an intimate partner. Violence, or the threat of it, not only causes physical and psychological harm to women and girls, it also limits their access to and participation in society because the fear of violence circumscribes their freedom of movement and of expression as well as their rights to privacy, security and health.

Women and girls encounter violence in their homes, communities, schools, workplaces, streets, markets, police stations and hospitals. And women who are HIV-positive face an additional danger: the stigma and threat of violence against people living with HIV and Aids.Women are two to four times more likely to contract HIV during unprotected sex than are men, because their physiology places them at a higher risk of injuries, because they are less able to control the circumstances and conditions of sexual intercourse, and because they are more likely than men to be at the receiving end of violent or coercive sexual intercourse.

Elements of the Aids testing, treatment and prevention machinery may also bring risk, such as the danger of violence connected to disclosure of HIV positive serostatus, coercive testing in the guise of voluntary counseling and testing (VCT), or the insidious treatment of women as vectors of disease, as in the case of prevention of mother-to-child transmission programmes (PMTCT) that fail to treat pregnant HIV positive women as clients with rights, or only as, and nothing more than, child-bearers.The impacts of both HIV/Aids and violence against women is exacerbated by inadequate services and failure to protect sexual and reproductive health and rights; laws that are weak or discriminatory toward women living with HIV/Aids; social and community standards that validate the subordination of women and all others whose sexuality and gender identity do not conform to social standards of appropriate femininity and masculinity; and the intersecting forms of discrimination faced by women and girls because of their race, language, sexuality, ethnicity, and other similar factors.

This is why national and international commitment to universal access is crucial to reversing the HIV/Aids pandemic. But only in rare instances have states fully committed to grappling with women's human rights in relation to violence or HIV/Aids. Equally rarely have donors and other multilateral agencies created structures of accountability in service of respecting, protecting and fulfilling the human rights of women and girls.

The Women Won't Wait campaign's March 2007 report looked at the policy, programming and funding patterns of the five largest public HIV/Aids donors and found that strong statements of policy concern 'evaporate' at the level of implementation. The level of funding for efforts to address gender-based violence remains small and often marginalized, while the integration of violence against women programming in the much larger pot of funding for HIV/Aids is inadequate and hard to trace.Gender-based violence continues to be treated as an "add-on" rather than as integral to work on HIV/Aids. Meanwhile, levels of funding for women's rights work are 'dismal', according to the Association for Women's Rights in Development. Violence against women and girls is rarely highlighted as a major driver and consequence of the disease, nor measured statistically to contribute to the evidence base.

It is nearly impossible to determine the precise amount of money contributed to work at the intersection because none of these donors publicly track their programming for and funding to violence eradication efforts within their HIV/Aids portfolio. All this despite the fact that - as WHO Director-General Margaret Chan has said -"what gets measured gets done".Show us the money--------Real commitments on the issues of gender-based violence against women and girls and the feminization of the AIDS epidemic from member nations of the G8 are long overdue.

G8 member nations must now take bold steps to demonstrate their commitment to respect, protect and fulfill women's rights - especially in the context of HIV/Aids - by promoting policies and negotiating positions that ensure adequate health care, education, legal services, and gender-sensitive and rights-based Aids and anti-violence interventions.Women's movements throughout the world have long fought for concrete action to promote and protect the human rights of all women - including the rights to be free from violence, coercion, stigma and discrimination, and the right to achieve the highest attainable standard of health, including sexual and reproductive health.

But this global standard is rarely translated into policy and practice. In the case of HIV/Aids, this results in a deadly failure in policy and an abrogation of governments' and donors' accountability. The waiting must end.

Online at: http://www.opendemocracy.net/democracy-

'We are likely to see growing water scarcity'

Climate change: 'We are likely to see growing water scarcity'

June 06, 2007

How will climate change transform India? What should Indians do in our everyday lives to lessen the impact of global warming?

Rediff.com's Nikhil Lakshman asked Dr Rajendra K Pachauri, Chairman, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, what India and Indians need to do to counter the terrors of global warming. The third in a five-part series of interviews:

Part 1 of the Interview: 'Climate change reports have not been diluted'
A lot of young people seem to be absolutely aghast at the consequences of global warming. Would you outline for them the immediate and long-term implications of climate change?
Well, all these have been documented in the report itself and I would encourage people who have a concern to read the report in detail. You know the issues that we need to consider are the fact that today you have enough observed evidence to show that the climate is changing. We also have enough observed evidence to show that the bulk of this change is taking place because of human activity.

We can separate out very neatly those effects which are caused by nature -- and these could be sunspots, these could be volcanic activity -- and those activities which are human induced. So we can say now on the basis of scientific research and very sophisticated modeling activities exactly what the separation between these two drivers is. I think that's very, very clear.

We now find that there is more than a 90% chance that all the warming that has taken place in recent decades is the result of human action.

We have also made projections for the future, which show, for instance, there will be major precipitation changes. We also know that there will be major temperature increases and the impacts are not going to be uniform. There are some countries that are far more vulnerable than others, some regions where the impacts will be quite severe.

In the case of, say, the Indian subcontinent, we certainly are likely to see more extreme precipitation events. We are likely to see growing water scarcity. We know our glaciers are melting very rapidly. And that's likely to cause very serious problems at least for the northern part of the subcontinent.
Part 2 of the Interview: Climate Change: 'The science is first rate'
Will the Himalayan glaciers truly melt?

Look at the rate at which the glaciers are melting. There is enough documentary evidence, there's visible evidence. You don't even have to measure anything. You can see it taking place.
Sea-level rise is a reality and you know we need to be concerned about it. We have a large coastline. Agriculture is likely to be affected adversely.

So you know these are issues that are clearly going to have major implications for human activity across the globe and it is important for people, particularly those who are in the younger age group, to worry about some of these issues and start taking both adaptation measures as well as ensure that on a global basis, we can bring about effective mitigation of emissions of these gases.

So is this change universal?

Well, a good part of it really is because even if we had stabilised our emissions during the year 2000, climate change would continue for several decades. As a matter of fact, sea level rise, which really has the longest time scale, will continue for centuries. So we have to adapt while we may bring about action to mitigate emissions.

But you think we need to adapt to climate change as well as mitigate its consequences?
Absolutely. You need to do both. One or the other will not work. You need both.
What adaptation can we do in India?

Water management. We need to manage our water resources far more efficiently. Make sure that every drop of water, at least in economic activities, is used effectively.

I mean simple things like the kinds of toilets that we have over here, they are terribly inefficient in the use of water. Everywhere else in the world they have come up with designs that are far more efficient. With urbanisation and the demand for water growing in urban areas, these are things that are going to be critical.

In agriculture, we waste enormous amount of water, in industries we need to recycle water. There is a lot that can be done in the case of agriculture.

We need to come up with very location-specific solutions and how we may be able to counter the impact of climate change. Otherwise, agricultural yields will decline.
What about the energy scenario?

Well, there you really need global responses and global solutions. India is a very small part of the emissions problem. Even though our share is growing, it's still very, very small. I think action has to be taken first by the developed countries and I think that's absolutely critical. It is essential.

The European Union is trying to tackle climate change. The Bush administration, for long averse to taking any action, has finally stirred. What about India?
The government has to take the lead. We have to come up with a game plan, we have to come with a roadmap about what we need to do about climate change and, of course, predominantly it has to be an adaptation-based plan of action.

The number of cars that are on the roads is ridiculous. We have to think of a totally different plan of transport as opposed to what has been followed in the developed countries. It doesn't suit our conditions, locally or globally. So you know these are things that have to be thought through and you know we have to articulate them.

Has the government consulted you on what needs to done? The finance minister mentioned the constitution of an expert committee on climate change in his Budget speech. It has been a couple of months since and there has been no movement.

I haven't heard anything but you know on a regular basis we (The Energy Research Institute of which Dr Pachauri is the director-general) work very closely with the ministry of environment. We provide them regular inputs in the negotiations, in defining their own position as far as climate change is concerned. We have a good relationship in terms of providing advice and analytical inputs to the government.

online available at- http://www.rediff.com/news/2007/jun/06inter.htm