The six-year-old Seeds Bill could be the next headache for the UPA government in Parliament. As the government plans to introduce the Bill in the Rajya Sabha this week, the Opposition, especially the Left parties, and several farmers’ organisations have ganged up against some of its provisions. The Left is also in touch with other political parties to put pressure on the government to remove certain “ antifarmer” clauses in the Bill. The...

The government is spending billions of dollars on welfare schemes, and plans even more this year. But that is news to Poona, whose daughter may soon die from that stain on India's growth story -- malnutrition. Poona, who married at 14 and breaks quarry stones for a living, shielded her daughter's sunken face from a harsh summer sun with her blue sari. She does not know Urmila's weight, but the...

The battle over genetically modified brinjal may resume shortly as an environment ministry agency readies its ammunition against arguments that the vegetable, the introduction of which has been halted by a government moratorium, threatens biodiversity and is unsafe for human consumption. The Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) will be going up against environment minister Jairam Ramesh, who was responsible for the decision to suspend cultivation of Bt brinjal after the panel...

At first glance, the vegetable patches in this north Indian village look no different from the many small, spare farms that dot the country. But up close, visitors can see some curious experiments: insect traps made with reusable plastic bags; bamboo poles helping bitter gourd grow bigger and straighter; and seedlings germinating from plastic trays under a fine net. These are low-tech innovations, to be sure. But they are crucial...

At least 70 Lok Sabha MPs, including former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad and cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu, have not yet disclosed details of their assets, a Right to Information (RTI) application has revealed. The information was obtained in reply to an application filed by RTI activist Subhash Chandra Agrawal with the Lok Sabha secretariat, seeking names of the members who have not...