-The Tribune New Delhi: Amid the central government’s claim of 28 per cent higher yield of GM mustard in the Rajya Sabha, former government scientists and agriculture experts have accused the government of fiddling with GM DMH -11 data. The government is said to have claimed that there is 28 per cent higher yield of GM mustard than that of other varieties. Dr SE Pawar, who has worked at nuclear agriculture &...

-Down to Earth Over 100 doctors across India submit letter to PM Modi warning of health concerns Doctors across India have come together to express their concern against the plantation of genetically modified (GM) mustard crops, which recently received the Centre’s go-ahead for its environmental clearance. A letter has been submitted by 111 doctors across various fields to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, demanding immediate uprooting of the trial plantations of the genetically modified...

-The Telegraph It has been estimated that 76% of all prisoners in India — 371,848 in absolute numbers — are undertrials Days after the Indian president, Droupadi Murmu, highlighted the plight of poor and tribal undertrials languishing in jails for petty crimes despite getting bail, the Supreme Court has sought details of such prisoners for formulating a national scheme for their release. This is timely. It has been estimated that 76% of...

-Hindustan Times PM Modi had expressed concerns that the utilisation of the funds earmarked for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) was skewed in favour of more affluent states instead of poorer states getting more money, two senior officials said, asking not to be named. After Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged key discrepancies in the jobs guarantee scheme at a recent review meeting on the rural sector, the central...

-Hindustan Times Farm policymaking slowed down after the repeal of three laws in 2021. But the climate crisis, geopolitical instability and inflation have exacerbated the urgency for reforms In November 2021, Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi repealed three contentious farm laws in a dramatic turnaround. The entire episode — from the passage of the laws, the protests that followed and the turnaround — had stalled national agriculture policymaking. Yet, as this column...