-The Times of India PANAJI: Following the adverse report by the Shah commission on illegal mining in Goa, the Union environment and forests minister Jayanthi Natarajan on Wednesday announced the suspension of environment clearances given to all 93 functional mining leases in the state. The orders came a day after TOI's story on how the central government had given illegal clearances to Goa's iron ore mines even under PM Manmohan Singh's watch...

-PTI PANAJI: The Union ministry of environment and forest (MoEF) on Wednesday suspended the environment clearances (EC) of all the 93 mining leases in Goa asking the mine owners to submit the relevant documents. The mine owners will have to submit their documents which are required for getting the environment clearances, minister of environment and forest Jayanti Natarajan told reporters in Panaji on Wednesday. Justice MB Shah commission, in its report on Goa's...

-The Times of India HYDERABAD: Is Bt Brinjal safe? The demonisation of BT crops got a push with the parliamentary committee on agriculture in its report submitted last month commenting that transgenics in food crops would be fraught with unknown consequences. But the Hyderabad-based National Institute of Nutrition (NIN) of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) says that Bt Brinjal is safe. A voluminous report on the laboratory experiments carried out...

-The Economic Times India's drug price regulator has initiated a process to end the 16-year freedom enjoyed by foreign drug makers to fix the retail price of their imported medicines in the country. The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) has written to the department of pharmaceuticals to amend the Drugs (Prices Control) Order of 1995, its chairman CP Singh told ET. The amendment will allow NPPA to seek details of the methodology adopted...

-The Times of India Non-government wildlife experts on board the PM-chaired National Board of Wildlife (NBWL) are planning to write a joint letter to PM Manmohan Singh complaining of alleged illegalities and malpractices of the Environment Ministry. In a move that could further embarrass the government, they are also considering using the letter to the PM later in the Supreme Court to oppose some green clearances given by the ministry and some...