-The Hindu Claim that decision will reduce dependence on oil imports is baseless, say activists Chennai: As the Centre mulls over giving approval for commercial cultivation of GM mustard, a section of biologists and activists have warned that such a move would be ill-advised. Arguing that the rationale given by the government and industry to allow Genetically Modified mustard to enter the food ecosystem is flawed, Kavitha Kuruganti, convener of the Alliance for...

-The Financial Express The agriculture ministry is not reconciled to the grip which Monsanto has on the Indian cottonSeed industry owing to the immense preference for its patented, genetically-modified (GM) bollworm-resistance traits. On May 16, Additional Solicitor-General Tushar Mehta intervened in a dispute between Monsanto and its biggest (now divorced) sub-licensee, Hyderabad-based Nuziveedu Seeds. He made written submissions on behalf of the government, a week after hearings on the matter had...

-The Hindu Business Line Farmers seen bringing more area under the fibre crop this year Ahmedabad / Bengaluru: Sowing of cotton has begun on a strong note in the key growing regions of North India such as Punjab and Haryana, and Southern Karnataka, for the 2017-18 season. Buoyed by the high prevailing prices, farmers are seen bringing in a larger area under the fibre crop and the Seed industry expects acreages this year...

-Frontline.in The Aadhaar project’s headlong push towards “total” enrolment of Indian citizens threatens the privacy of individuals on an unprecedented scale, while its patchy biometric system acts as a tool of denial for the most vulnerable. Meanwhile, the UID chugs along, regardless, fuelled by the avarice of private interests who seek to cash in on citizen data. IN the last seven years, the right to privacy of Indian citizens has been...

-Outlook In a pulses-importing country, a bumper crop brings little cheer to those who cultivate pulses. Here’s why In India, a bumper crop is not ­always an occasion to celebrate, as farmers have often found to their cost whether it is potato, onion or grapes. Pulses, which have always been far short of domestic needs, are facing a similar fate this year, with mandi prices in many parts of the country far...