-FAO Direct economic costs of $750 billion annually - Better policies required, and "success stories" need to be scaled up and replicated Rome: The waste of a staggering 1.3 billion tonnes of food per year is not only causing major economic losses but also wreaking significant harm on the natural resources that humanity relies upon to feed itself, says a new FAO report. Food Wastage Footprint: Impacts on Natural Resources is the first...

-Outlook Gandhinagar: A more stringent safety regime will be in place for genetic engineering in agriculture or medical sciences once the National Biotechnology Regulatory Authority (NBRA) Bill is cleared by Parliament, a senior official said here today. "The NBRA bill has been introduced in Parliament and being debated. Once it (bill) is cleared, a more stringent safety regime shall be in place for genetic engineering, be it in the agriculture space or...

-FAO   Prices of cereals and oils decrease - FAO expects bumper cereal harvest this year Rome: The FAO Food Price Index dropped for the fourth month in a row in August reaching its lowest level since June 2012. The index, which measures the monthly change in the international prices of a basket of food commodities, averaged 201.8 points in August 2013, nearly 4 points (1.9 percent) below its July value and 11 points...

-The Business Standard The process prescribed in the law is so cumbersome and time consuming that neither industry nor landowner will benefit Fast economic growth in the last two decades has increased demand for land from many sources, such as infrastructure, industry, mining, and urbanisation, including real estate. Even when these activities are funded privately and are driven by profit motive, they serve a social purpose since employment generation per unit of...

-Frontline Riding roughshod over farmers' concerns, the Gujarat government notifies a project to develop the Mandal-Becharaji Special Investment Region, an industrial hub spread over 50,884 hectares, affecting 44 villages. But the villagers see it as a real estate scam and are determined to resist it. GUJARAT may soon have several new townships. The Narendra Modi-led government has proposed to set up 13 special investment regions (SIRs), which are essentially industrial hubs...