Many regular readers of GoodNewsIndia [GNI] have wondered why this site has not been updated since 2006. The simple answer is this: the one-man team, that is me, D V Sridharan that publishes GNI is busy with a land restoration project christened, pointReturn . It will need my undivided time and attention at least till 2010; that leaves me with little time or energy to travel and do stories for GNI as I have done since 2000. So work on the site is temporarily suspended.
That is the reason. But there is a connecting story behind how I came to undertake pointReturn. In case you are interested, do pull up a chair and listen. It's a long one, and I must caution, somewhat opinionated. ⇒⇒
Mar 31, 2007
Our forefathers were not unwise after all, to have included arecanut -betel- chewing as part of everyday life. Now two drugs have been prepared from the nut that can be used against diabetes and respiratory disorders. Licenses have been granted to Sri Dharmasthala Manjunatheswara Ayurveda Pharmacy to manufacture these formulations. If the initial market acceptance scales up, 5% of all nut grown in Kerala and Karnataka will find new markets. The development may also suck out the quantity available for chewing, a habit that has nullified any medicinal virtue our ancestors may have discovered in the nut!
Random picks:
“Labour market flexibility in India is reality for all but a small labour aristocracy.”
Jun 22, 2003:EnthusiastAmong the few things that a man in uniform gets in India when he retires is, faith and love of his land.
Jan 02, 2004:Memory SpeaksThe whole family gathered around it
Jun 08, 2003:TrendThe number of heinous crimes had come down, particularly in Rajasthan and Maharashtra
Jan 13, 2004:Memory SpeaksThe bride-to-be was put through a ‘fool-proof’ test: get her to roast a papad.
Jul 01, 2004:InnovationAhmed Khan has now produced what seems a flawless solution that will satisfy all critics.
Jul 05, 2003:NewsclipBhardwaj slugged it out and endeared himself to the Australians that met him and “he was a fantastic Ambassador to your country”
Feb 15, 2003:ActivismIf you believe in the power of the mind, this should work.
Oct 23, 2002:TrendRight now, there is a market opportunity for India
Jul 02, 2003:Ideas For IndiaIs there an enthusiast out there to commission a study of this idea by specialists?
Jan 19, 2004:SpringsIt was built on faith-- and a conviction that money can always be found for a good cause
Aug 29, 2005:UpdateSanskrit may not be a dead language but there are no lack of efforts to kill it.
Nov 24, 2003:InnovationIndia has about 300million each of non-literates and neo-literates. SLS offers a very low cost technique of developing their reading skill
Jul 15, 2003:ReformsIt is clear the PDS never really delivered to the needy but fed a parallel trade
Jan 17, 2003:EnthusiastHe has so far brought back 80 species of mango and jack-fruit
Jun 03, 2004:EnergyEventually a total of half a million megawatts are to be produced by nuclear reactors.
Dec 04, 2004:InnovationThey showed they had a mind of their own: they wanted to start and run a bank exclusively for children.
Jul 28, 2006:AppealOoranis are people friendly, low cost, sustainable solutions for drinking water, based on rain water harvesting.
Aug 20, 2006:ActivismGovernment’s decision to not amend the RTI Act ‘for now’ is only an interim victory, but the campaign to gain it, is a landmark triumph of citizens’ collective action.
Nov 09, 2003:UpdateShelter Associates believe that planning for the poor must have the poor as the largest participant in plan design, implementation and management.
Sep 30, 2002:InnovationSolar cooking may gain acceptability at the higher-end of the scale
Jul 04, 2003:InitiativeDr. R Madhavan and Mr. V Subramaniam, have for 15 years now been pushing a tricycle and planting trees
Aug 22, 2005:EnergyPongamia can be a wasteland tree, its oil is not edible, its care requires no chemical fertilisers or much water, it does not call for repeated planting and harvest like rape or soya do and the enriched land under its canopy can be used to raise edible crops.
Jan 01, 2004:ProfilePandurang Shastri Athavale is one of modern India’s Great Masters
Jun 15, 2005:Ideas For IndiaAll it requires is some subtle management of a fully integrated, zero-waste system
May 14, 2003:ActivismCommentators say it bodes well for the rule of law
Jan 22, 2004:EconomyCairn discovery was made precisely on river Sarasvati’s banks
Feb 10, 2003:InnovationThe idea has been well thought through— from the sea bed to the supermarket shelves
Apr 14, 2003:TrendThe flair and versatility of the modern, urban Indian woman is widely known. Her rural cousin is no laggard either
Dec 12, 2002:NewsclipLanguage is not the barrier - it is the challenge to create a PC that will
Nov 26, 2003:Memory Speaks“We wouldn’t return home till we had done the rounds of at least 20-30 homes”
Dec 29, 2002:ReformsBALCO, stagnant for years is now set to grow
Feb 25, 2003:UpdateMany of the stumbling blocks he has faced may have been overcome by a smart MBA
May 08, 2004:GovernanceIndia has taken the first tentative step towards a full-fledged law to protect whistleblowers.
Jan 13, 2003:Enthusiast“It is an oven which can cook, boil, roast and bake!,” says S Narayanaswamy
Apr 08, 2003:EconomyIndia’s knowledge-edge is making it a success in the $3 trillion global auto-parts industry
May 23, 2003:InitiativeBunker and his work are not new to prizes either.
Apr 03, 2003:TrendAn Indian maybe unlettered and poor but she is not dumb
Jun 05, 2003:TrendBihar is the ancient home to India’s divine heroes, kings, strategists, teachers, scholars, patriots, artists and administrators.
Mar 20, 2003:InnovationIndia generates 5600 tonnes of plastic waste daily. That is bound to grow