The GM crops debate rages, but pressure is on to end the moratorium Actively On Hold? Well...     * GEAC meets experts in late April, butthrows no light on safety reviews     * Second report by national science academies supports limited release     * GEAC chairman rejects limited release; assures further discussions     * No decision on further tests or studies to justify Bt Brinjal     * Civil society groups meet GEAC in May, seek...

Biotechnology can provide effective solutions to the rising food security problems of the country on the back of rising population and inflation concerns. “With rising population, depleting land and water resources, and a rapid increase in food prices in India, the application of innovation and crop biotechnologies will be critical in enhancing agricultural yields along with achievement of food security for the nation,” G Padmanaban, NASI-Platinum Jubilee Chair of Indian Institute...

History has been made in this year's civil services' results. In a rare first, the top two candidates are women. Topper S Divyadharshini is an alumnus of Dr Ambedkar Law University in Chennai. Sweta Mohanty, who did her B Tech in computer science from Gokaraju Rangaraju Institute of Engineering and Technology (GRIET), Hyderabad, has come second. The merit list boasts of five women candidates in the top 25. R V Varun Kumar,...

Over a dozen students of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences today boycotted their annual convocation while others handed badges that read “No to Nuclear Energy” to chief guest Jairam Ramesh in protest against the Jaitapur power project. A group of 22 students, who had visited the seven villages in Maharashtra’s Ratnagiri district that will be affected by the 9,900MW nuclear plant, also presented the environment minister with a fact file...

A transparent assessment of the costs and risks associated with India's ambitious nuclear plans must be made before any ground is broken at Jaitapur or elsewhere. You really have to hand it to the nuclear industry. In any other sphere of the economy, a major industrial disaster is likely to have adverse, long-term financial consequences for the company or companies whose product or activity was involved in the accident, regardless of...