-Economic and Political Weekly   The manner in which the United Progressive Alliance government approved field trials of genetically engineered crops in the last few weeks of its term in office speaks poorly of its regard for the decision-making process. Shalini Bhutani (shalinibhutani@hotmail.com) is a legal researcher and policy analyst who has worked on agriculture issues. Manju Menon and Kanchi Kohli are independent researchers who have worked on environment regulation. Please click here to download the...

-Down to Earth   Too high a premium for too little cover Maharashtra government appears to have learnt no lesson at all from the hailstorms that lashed the entire state in March this year, and yet again lashed several districts in May, if its new decision to include three orchard crops - orange, sweet lime and guava - in its Weather Based Crop Insurance Scheme (WBCIS) on an experimental basis during the current...

-The Indian Express   New Delhi: In the Manmohan Singh PMO, the CPIO was K Salil Kumar and the First Appellate Authority was Krishna Kumar.   Moments after Narendra Modi took oath on May 26, the Prime Minister's Office instantly launched a new version of its website http://www.pmindia.gov.in and http://www.pmindia.nic.in but 15 days later it's yet to disclose key details required under the Right to Information Act.   These include: names of officers designated as Central Public Information...

-The Hindu Business Line     A government run by a bevy of economists with no sense of the ground reality made mistakes. Some really big ones As the new government settles down to tackle the myriad problems confronting it, it's worth taking a quick glance at the principal reasons for the spectacular unravelling of the UPA-2 government. A defining characteristic of UPA-2 was that it was led by an economist and supported by prominent...

-The Indian Express   Every time they step out, say the women of the village, it is with the fear of being teased, the shame of being seen, and the discomfort of counting hours. The two girls in Badaun who were raped and killed had left home to go to the fields to relieve themselves. Every time they step out, say the women of the village, it is with the fear of being...