-Economic and Political Weekly A number of state agencies and non-governmental organisations have come forward to facilitate farmers/breeders to register their crop varieties and obtain plant variety certifi cates. But can these agencies bring forth a change in the mindset of the small farmers and seed savers' groups who view the current intellectual property regime with scepticism and continue to keep away from it? Shalini Bhutani (shalinibhutani@hotmail.com) is a legal researcher and...

-The Indian Express It is necessary to rescue public policy from its elitist bias, bring agriculture to its centre There is seldom any Independence Day speech where the prime minister, from the ramparts of the Red Fort, does not thank the jawans and kisans for their heroic role in securing our borders and ensuring food security. This year is unlikely to be different. Recall Lal Bahadur Shastri’s famous slogan, “Jai Jawan,...

-The Hindu Chennai: Scientists at the Chennai-based Central Institute of Brackishwater Aquaculture have achieved success in breeding milkfish in captivity after 10 long years of research. For the first time in the country, efforts to breed in captivity milkfish (Chanos Chanos), known as Pal Kendai in Tamil, met with success by the Chennai-based Central Institute of Brackishwater Aquaculture (CIBA) at its Experimental Research Station in Muttakadu. “It is a major breakthrough in the...

-The Hindu The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), under the instructions of the Prime Minister’s Office, has undertaken a pilot project to implement the Gujarat human resources management model in two Central government agencies. The proposal for System of Application of Technology for Human Resources Improvement (SATHI) application was approved by the then Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi in 2012, developed by IT major Infosys and launched by Chief Minister Anandiben...

-Outlook New Delhi: Promising a revamp of Delhi's education system, the state government today said it will form its own education board on the lines of CBSE and NCERT, come out with new syllabus and also amend existing education laws. In a first-of-its kind interaction under one roof, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisosia today met principals of all the government schools at Tyagraj Stadium here. The announcement came...