-The Indian Express While crimes against Dalits are increasing, the state has time and again let them down, with little action against the perpetrators. Atrocities against Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) are a regular feature of the caste-based Indian society and distressingly, of late, they have begun increasing. What is ironical is that only recently, the country commemorated the 125th birth anniversary of B .R. Ambedkar, the icon of the...

-The Hindu This is hardly a rice ready for cultivation by farmers — it has not even entered the stage of biosafety evaluation by government regulatory institutions. Recently 110 Nobel Laureates issued a strongly worded plea to Greenpeace to “abandon their campaign against [genetically modified organisms] in general and Golden Rice in particular.” This is not the first time notable scientists have waded into the controversy surrounding genetically modified (GM) crops. What...

-The Hindu Move to give nutrition supplements to anganwadi children draws flak. Bengaluru: Can two grams of a plant-based dietary supplement substitute a wholesome balanced meal for anganwadi children? With the Women and Child Development Department all set to administer Spirulina to severely malnourished children, activists and nutritionists are battling for a wholesome meal instead. As announced in the State Budget, the department has decided to administer two gm of Spirulina for 180 days...

-The Hindu The RCEP is a regional trade agreement being negotiated between the 10 ASEAN countries currently in Auckland. Humanitarian aid organisation Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has warned India that the country will not remain ‘pharmacy of the developing world’ if the proposals in the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership agreement (RCEP) are adopted. The RCEP is a regional trade agreement being negotiated between the 10 ASEAN countries currently in Auckland. MSF Access Campaign...

-The Hindu Panel set up by Environment Ministry to take a call on GM mustard. Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar has said the use of genetically modified (GM) technology for seeds is important for improving agricultural productivity and food security. He said 18 field trials, testing various kinds of GM seeds, were under way but the government would take a considered view on releasing genetically modified mustard. GM mustard, likely to be the first...