While the human resources development ministry is currently focused on weeding out poor-quality private education providers in the higher education space, a very different picture obtains as far as primary and secondary education is concerned. At a time when the government is almost certainly going to increase expenditure on the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan (SSA) and is still working on the costs of the Right to Education (RTE) Bill, the findings...

The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has sanctioned Rs.1.15 crore from its Farmers Technology Transfer Fund to the National Agro Foundation (NAF), NABARD’s Managing Director K.G. Karmakar announced on Saturday. Speaking at a function in Illedu village, Kancheepuram, to observe the birth centenary of the former statesman, C. Subramanian, he said the funds had been sanctioned to the NAF to help farmers access new technologies. NABARD was interested...

Bacillus Thuringiensis Brinjal, popularly known as Bt brinjal, is at the centre of a major controversy in India. Bt brinjal, a genetically modified strain created by India's number one seeds company Mahyco in collaboration with American multinational Monsanto, claims to improve yields and help the agriculture sector. However, the debate over the safety of Bt brinjal continues with mixed views from scientists working for the government, farmers and environment activists. Environment activists says...

The Maharashtra government will amend its Development Control Rules, in a bid to contain criminalisation of realty. It also plans to strictly implement the provisions of Indian Penal Code and Criminal Procedure Code to stem the growing nexus between builders and gangsters and easy flow of black money into the sector. "If builders are found guilty, they will be blacklisted. They will be debarred from any contract from the government or...

Are the world and human society in general ready and willing to take action on critical issues that require a major change in the manner in which we produce and consume goods and services?  The science of climate change is now well established. This is the result of painstaking work of over two decades carried out by thousands of scientists drawn from across the globe to assess every aspect of...