-The Hindu Congress’ Ahmed Patel says Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Authority should have intervened With protests coming from all ends of the political spectrum, the Gujarat government has decided to back four potato farmers in their fight against PepsiCo’s Rs. 4.2 crore lawsuit against them for allegedly infringing its rights by growing the potato used in Lays chips. State will join A senior official told The Hindu that the State government...

-The Hindu They face demand for Rs. 1.05 crore in damages for growing Lays variety, want government to step in Just days after multi-billion dollar conglomerate PepsiCo sued four Gujarati farmers, asking them to pay Rs. 1.05 crore each as damages for ‘infringing its rights’ by growing the potato variety used in its Lays chips, farmers groups have launched a campaign calling for government intervention. The case is coming up for hearing in...

-The Indian Express On a suit filed by PepsiCo India Holdings Pvt Ltd, the Ahmedabad city civil court earlier this month had barred four farmers of Sabarkantha district — Bipin Patel, Chhabil Patel, Vinod Patel and Haribhai Patel — from growing and selling potatoes till April 26. Ahmedabad: Leading rights groups and individuals working for farmers’ rights in the country have sought Central government’s intervention to protect at least nine farmers...

-Livemint.com Plant varieties and seeds cannot be patented under Indian law by companies like Monsanto, and any royalties on GM crops will be decided by the agriculture ministry, says Delhi high court New Delhi: Plant varieties and seeds cannot be patented under Indian law by companies like Monsanto Inc., and any royalties on genetically modified (GM) technology will be decided by a specialized agency of the agriculture ministry, the Delhi high court...

-The Hindu Why India is the only Bt cotton-growing country facing the problem of pink bollworm infestation Earlier this month, the government cut royalties that local seed companies pay to Monsanto, for the second time in two years. This follows previous attempts to defang Monsanto. In February, for instance, the anti-trust regulator, the Competition Commission of India, decided to probe into anti-competitive practices by Monsanto. At the centre of all this is...