-PTI   A desperate government's efforts failed today to achieve any breakthrough with Baba Ramdev deciding to go ahead with his indefinite fast here from tomorrow amidst indications that a compromise was likely in a day or two. For nearly five hours, two senior union ministers Kapil Sibal and Subodh Kant Sahay negotiated with the yoga guru over his demands on eradication of corruption at a posh hotel, a venue totally different...

-The Financial Express   THE rising sale of spurious Pesticides in the country is resulting in crop damage, top agricultural scientists said on Wednesday. S Ayyappan, director general, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), said around 40% of Pesticides used in the country is spurious. “Research and development needs to be given a boost in this field (Pesticides) and for this the main participation should come from the private sector, and a...

Brajendra Ghosh (45), a farmer, committed suicide allegedly by consuming Pesticide at Durmut village in Mangalkote on Sunday morning. He was declared dead on arrival at the Katwa Hospital. In the recent past, several cases of farmer suicides have come to light. But this is the first such case due to debt in the rice bowl of the state after the new government led by Mamata Banerjee stormed into power....

The Delhi High Court on Monday stayed an order that would have allowed Indians to seek information from the Supreme Court under the country’s Right-to-Information act, rather than under existing court rules, after the top court appealed the ruling. Earlier this month, the Central Information Commission, which oversees the implementation of India’s transparency law, ruled that people seeking information from the court were entitled to use the four-year-old statute if they...

It is the improper mode of application, violating the law and regulations, that is responsible for the apparent adverse toxic effects of endosulfan. FROM a scientific perspective, an extremely pertinent question in the endosulfan story is why adverse health effects similar to those seen in the villages of Kasaragod district in Kerala have not been reported from other parts of the country where the Pesticide is used in much larger...