Increased representation for women can unleash a broader process that can be set in motion by the strength of sheer numbers. One measure of whether it is important to have women in important policy formulation roles is to examine how a largely male-dominated system of government has served women. It turns out that India performs very poorly in this regard. Despite a few heartening examples to the contrary, in general Indian...

Biotech technicians neither have the knowledge of gene ecology nor the expertise in multiple disciplines.    After the minister of environment Jairam Ramesh announced a moratorium on Bt brinjal, article after article in the media has denounced the decision, saying such decisions should be left to ‘scientists.’ The issue is however not science vs anti-science. It is reductionist science vs systems science. The moratorium took into account the best of science. Many...

There is little or no doubt that the idea of direct cash transfers to India’s poorest has some heavy hitters behind it now. Besides the now famous second chapter of the Economic Survey and definite hints (and some statements that were more than hints) from Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, several state leaders have spoken up in favour of it. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has more than once said that...

* Main aim is to create asingle-window clearing-house for GM foods/crops * Planned regulatory authority to have overarching powers over state governments, existing laws * No room for farmers or civil society in approval process * Penal action for raising objection without scientific evidence * No independent risk assessment of data submitted to the authority * No provision for revoking approvals, inadequate liability clause * No informed choice for consumers...

In India, the Bt Brinjal is a hot potato. Never has the eggplant - still cheap in an inflation-hit country - attracted so much attention. "Brief 38", a primer on Bt Brinjal - the country's first genetically modified (GM) food - brought out by the International Service for Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications, is being downloaded 10,000 times a month. Genetically modified crops resist pests and give better yields as well as nutrition....