Some time before the Manmohan Singh regime imploded in the mass of corruption scandals that are currently regaling television audiences, Manish Tiwari, the Congress member of parliament and spokesperson, was participating in a televised programme on political parties and their attitudes to corruption. Someone asked why the Congress had given a parliamentary ticket to Mohammed Azharuddin, the former Indian cricket captain found guilty of match-fixing and banned for life from...

-Guardian   A budding interest in organic food offers farmers soaring incomes and higher yields, but critics say it's not the answer to India's fast-rising food demands India's struggling farmers are starting to profit from a budding interest in organic living. Not only are the incomes of organic farmers soaring – by 30% to 200%, according to organic experts – but their yields are rising as the pesticide-poisoned land is repaired through natural...

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...

The arrival of large quantities of wheat in the grain markets of the Punjab-Haryana region is a heart-warming sight, while poor storage is a matter of national shame. It was in April-May 1968, that the country witnessed the wonderful spectacle of large arrivals of wheat grain in the mandis of Punjab like Moga and Khanna. Wheat production in the country rose to nearly 17 million tonnes that year, from the previous...

Public sector Hindustan Insecticides charged with polluting environment Repeated demands to shift hazardous wastes to common treatment facility ignored Pesticide residues leaching into neighbourhood The Kerala State Pollution Control Board (PCB) on Tuesday ordered Hindustan Insecticides Limited, Kochi, manufacturing endosulfan, to close down its operations on charges of environmental pollution. The public sector company has been asked to close down “all operations and process in the industry with immediate effect.” However, it will...