-TheNewsMinute.com ‘Colonies in conflict’, directed by Rajani Mani, follows migratory giant Asian honey bees to reveal how human action is driving bee decline. When documentary filmmaker Rajani Mani moved into a high-rise apartment in Bengaluru in 2015, the massive beehives on the balconies and ledges of the top floors caught her eye. She was concerned, however, about the use of fire, smoke and pesticides to remove the hives which could endanger the...

-The Tribune Experts urge the government to be cautious on wheat export, suggest an upper cap, say traders dictating markets New Delhi: Wheat production in the country is down due to “early summers”, the government’s procurement has reduced and the prices of ‘atta’ and byproducts like bread, rusks and biscuits are rising by the day. While the government is calling increasing exports as “beneficial” for farmers, experts are advocating “caution”, including imposing...

-TheWire.in * The proposed Biological Diversity (Amendment) Bill 2021 encourages a conducive environment for investments and to simplify the patent application process. * Farmers in India have historically been against any kind of IP rights – whether patents or plant variety protection over seed and planting materials. * In a confused mix of laws, the government also grants IP rights to BMCs for farmers’ varieties – formed under the Biological Diversity Act –...

-Livemint.com Indian women are getting better educated and having fewer babies but not taking enough paid jobs In the small talk that well-to-do middle-aged Indian men tend to make in their drawing rooms over a cup of tea, they often blame our huge population as the root cause of all our problems, social, economic and political. Their solution is population control. In their heads, it’s a case-closing argument. The mother of all...

-TheWire.in/ Undark.org Under the pretext of COVID-19 safety, employers have tightened restrictions on live-in domestic workers in India. On a typical humid Sunday afternoon in July, Soni Tirki would be polishing off the chicken and rice that her mother makes every time the 20-year-old returns home. “I sit at ease and enjoy my meal,” Tirki says. “I eat however much I want. Nobody can stop me. Nobody can judge me.” But on this...