It's Okay to call a woman sexy. At least that's what the head of the National Commission of Women believes. At a seminar in Jaipur on Saturday, NCW chairperson Mamta Sharma said, "Don't be offended if someone says 'sexy', rather take it positively." The audience comprising students and sadhvis appeared stunned.  The 'Gateway to Future' seminar was organized by Terapanth, a socio-religious organization, to discuss various women's issues, including crimes against...

Days after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh spoke of the role of foreign-funded NGOs in instigating protests against genetic engineering in agriculture, Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh has asserted that his controversial decision to put the release of genetically-modified brinjal on indefinite hold in 2010 was not influenced by any NGO.   As the then environment minister, Jairam had blocked the commercial release of Bt brinjal, citing a lack of scientific consensus and...

-PTI   The Competition Commission of India (CCI) today imposed a penalty of Rs 165.58 crore on 48 LPG cylinder makers for forming a cartel while bidding during the tenders floated by Indian Oil in 2010-11. The competition watchdog imposed the penalty after finding them guilty of manipulating the bids and quoting "identical rates in groups through an understanding and collusion action". The ruling was based on the findings of the CCI's Director General...

-IANS   India has a reason to smile on the polio front, as it was taken off the list of polio endemic countries by the World Health Organisation (WHO), health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad announced at the Polio Summit 2012 held at Vigyan Bhawan on Saturday.  The summit had Prime Minister Manmohan Singh also in attendance.  "WHO has taken India's name off the list of polio endemic countries in view of the remarkable progress...

Microsoft founder Bill Gates has criticised UN agencies like the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP) for not doing enough to fight hunger and poverty. “Countries, food agencies and donors aren’t working together in a focused and co-ordinated way to provide the help small farmers need, when they need it,” Gates told the governing council of the IFAD in...