“We have considered the interest of the farming community” Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar on Friday admitted in the Rajya Sabha that 67 pesticides banned or restricted in a number of countries are being freely used in India. Replying to questions during question hour, Mr. Pawar said 27 pesticides, including calcium cyanide, have been banned for manufacture, import and use in India. NICotin sulfate and captafol have been banned for use but their...

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...

This article documents and then examines the various benefits that, it is claimed, will flow from linking the Unique Identity number with the public distribution system and the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme. It filters the unfounded claims, which arise from a poor understanding of how the PDS and NREGS function, from the genuine ones. On the latter, there are several demanding conditions that need to be met in order...

Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee made sure to defer to the Sonia Gandhi-led National Advisory Council's priorities as he presented the Union budget for 2011-2012 on Monday. The Minister took care to mention that the Food Security Bill, the NAC's top priority, was almost ready and would be brought before Parliament later this year. He also took on board the NAC's concerns on the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme...

In an attempt to deal with the use of black money in elections, the maximum poll expenditure for parliamentary constituencies has been increased to Rs 40 lakh and to Rs 16 lakh for assembly constituencies. Expenditure limit varies according to the size of states. On Wednesday, law ministry issued a notification amending the Conduct of Election Rules. At present, in big states, the upper spending limit in parliamentary constituency is Rs...