-The Hindu To bridge the gap in development between the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and non-SCs and STs, a coalition of more than 150 organisations is demanding a national law to prevent, once and for all, the diversion, non-release, non-implementation and lapsing of the Special Component Plans for SCs/STs. In response to the coalition's longstanding demands, the National Advisory Council's guidance and the letter Sonia Gandhi wrote to the Prime Minister...

-The Times of India The National Advisory Council (NAC) on Friday approved mandatory public consultation on new laws and rules before they are brought to Parliament. This will for the first time provide an institutional structure for civil society representatives to express their views. The "pre-legislative process'' was brought in the wake of increasing dissatisfaction over legislations piloted by the government, especially the Lokpal Bill. The move was initiated by NAC...

-The Hindu Hyderabad: Sixteen MPs of Opposition parties, have appealed to the Centre to withdraw the Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India (BRAI) Bill in view of the flaws it had. The MPs pointed to the inherent conflict of interest in the Bill in that it was introduced in Parliament by the Union Ministry of Science and Technology which is also promoting GM crops. The provisions showed limited public participation, no Transparency, lack...

-The Hindu     They say Supreme Court-appointed panel's recommendations reasonable Even as the final report of the Supreme Court-appointed Technical Expert Committee (TEC) on open field trials of genetically modified crops is awaited, 51 independent international scientists with expertise in genetic engineering and biosafety protocols have approved the panel's Interim Report. The report has called for a 10-year moratorium on open field trials of Bt food crops until adequate regulatory mechanisms and safety...

-The Hindu CAG sees weak political will, highlights failure of scheme Palakkad: A Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report has charged the State with a lack of political will in providing land to landless tribal people in the State. The Audit Report (General and Social Sector) of the CAG for the financial year 2011-12 accuses the government of tardy implementation of a Rs. 175-crore scheme for the resettlement of landless tribal people launched...