As many as 67 pesticides that have either been banned or severely restricted by some countries, have been allowed for use on crops in India, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar admitted in the Rajya Sabha on Friday. He said during Question Hour that 27 pesticides, including calcium cyanide, have been banned for manufacture, import and use in India. Nicotin Sulfate and Captafol have been banned for use in the country but their manufacture...

Trade unions of all hues join forces in an unprecedented manner and present a charter of demands to the government. IN a rare show of unity, and for the first time since Independence, around one lakh workers affiliated to eight central trade unions and national industrial federations, including the Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC) and the trade unions of the Left parties, came out on the streets of New...

Unlike the 2G telecom scam which he blamed on compromises required for running a coalition government, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has accepted responsibility for the Supreme Court striking down the appointment of P J Thomas as chief vigilance commissioner. "I respect the judgment of the Supreme Court and I accept my responsibility," the PM said in Jammu on Friday, admitting that the buck stopped with him since the CVC decision did...

RTI activists are angry with the state government for having appointed three commissioners to the Tamil Nadu Information Commission just before the model code of conduct came into force, with zero transparency. The government announced the appointments on Tuesday, hours before the election commission announced the poll date. Already, the appointment of former chief secretary KS Sripathi as the chief information commissioner is in a legal tangle after RTI activists...

NGOs fear several thousands left out ‘A mockery as enumerators insensitive' The census of the homeless in Delhi was completed on Tuesday with officials saying that they put in their best effort to count as many persons as possible, though some NGOs feared that several thousands were left out. Director of Census Operations (Delhi) Varsha Joshi said she along with other top officials had personally supervised the effort which began on the night...