Dissatisfied with the recommendation of the National Advisory Council (NAC) for “phased, time-bound universalisation of foodgrains entitlements” across the country, the Right to Food Campaign has announced its decision to mobilise people for a “comprehensive” Food Security Act. “A nationwide call will be given towards this at the national convention being held in Rourkela, Orissa, from August 6,” the Campaign, a conglomeration of activists and civil society groups, said in a...

The European Commission recommended sweeping new changes to the European Union’s policy on the cultivation of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) on Tuesday, unveiling a proposal to grant individual member states the right to decide for themselves whether to allow their domestic farmers to grow the altered crops. “I think that this proposal reflects a balanced approach to a sensitive issue, in particular for European citizens,” European Health Commissioner John Dalli told...

A sustainable population stabilisation strategy needs to be embedded in a rights-based and gender-sensitive local community needs-led approach. An authoritarian top-down target approach is not the answer. The evolution of government-led population stabilisation efforts in India goes back to the start of the five year development plans in 1951-52. A national programme was launched, which emphasised ‘family planning' to the extent necessary to reduce birth rates to stabilise the population at...

The radicals in the Sonia Gandhi-led National Advisory Council (NAC) are unlikely to give in to the conservatives’ case against the universalisation of food subsidy. They insisted that not only was universalisation theoretically possible but it also worked “successfully” on the ground. In what could make the Centre squirm, they cited BJP-ruled Chhattisgarh as an example of what an inclusive public distribution system (PDS) could do. An indication that the NAC’s radicals were...

Even Bihar has outdone UP. Seven out of ten children in Uttar Pradesh lack protection against life threatening diseases like BCG, DPT and others. Of the ten high focus states in the country, Uttar Pradesh ranks lowest as far as routine immunisation (RI) coverage is concerned. Worse is that while other states in the category have picked up well in the last one decade, UP still lags behind. The fact...