-The Hindu     Genetically modified crops, whose ecological effects are irreversible, could become a mainstay of Indian agriculture thanks to collusion between the government and the biotech industry The final report of the Supreme Court-appointed Technical Expert Committee (TEC) on field trials of genetically modified crops is packed with revelations on what is wrong with institutional governance and regulation in India when it comes to GMOs (genetically-modified organisms). The report's release late last...

-The Hindustan Times After the political parties, now the Department of Atomic Energy has asked the government to keep it out of the Right to Information Act, saying the transparency law is in conflict with its international commitments which require "strict confidentiality." However, the DAE's demand for immediate exemption from the RTI Act through an official notification is unlikely to be accepted with the law ministry raising a red flag, citing the...

The UPA government’s proposed bid to amend the Right to Information (RTI) Act, in order to avoid compliance with the June 3 CIC order bringing records of political parties within RTI’s ambit, is sparking widespread citizen criticism and mobilisation. (Pl read the links below for more info on RTI and the bid to amend it)   An online petition put out by the National Campaign for the People’s Right to Information has...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Prices of globally traded food declined for the third consecutive quarter since their historical peak in August, 2012, a World Bank report has said but cautioned that uncertain weather conditions and domestic policy decisions such as extension food subsidy programmes in India and other countries need a close watch. Prices of all the three main food categories declined between February and June, 2013. Prices of grains...

-The Hindu Growing number believe that the BJP is better at handling corruption Two out of three people feel that the UPA-2 is corrupt and that corruption has increased over the last four years, while a growing number believe that the BJP is better at handling corruption than the UPA, according to the CSDS poll. Even though corruption is only the fifth most important issue for voters in the 2014 elections, according to...