-The Economic Times There has been a change of guard at the power ministry and Jyotiraditya Scindia, the new man in charge, has described his task as daunting. To simplify the many complexities, it's worth keeping in mind an adage that's particularly apt for rural India: Nothing is more expensive than no power. While on one hand there are thousands of villages that still remain to be electrified, on the other even...
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Bans not the answer
-The Business Standard SC decision to seek views on GM crops welcome The Supreme Court’s decision to seek views of different stakeholders before considering a 10-year moratorium on field trials of genetically modified (GM) crops, as suggested by the technical committee it had appointed, is welcome. The committee’s recommendation had caused widespread disquiet among the scientific community, a section of the seed industry and farmers. If the recommendation was accepted by the...
More »Whistleblower on Maharashtra dams in legal tangle -Hemali Chhapia
-The Times of India MUMBAI: An RTI activist from the city who unearthed information on the long-pending dam projects in Maharashtra has been served a notice asking him to prove that he is the owner of the single piece of land that he owns. Four months ago, Jeetendra Ghadge had filed an RTI on all the dam works across Maharashtra. The response he received was scandalous. Even as large parts of Maharashtra...
More »Watching Sandy, Ignoring Climate Change-Elizabeth Kolbert
-New Yorker A couple of weeks ago, Munich Re, one of the world’s largest reinsurance firms, issued a study titled “Severe Weather in North America.” According to the press release that accompanied the report, “Nowhere in the world is the rising number of natural catastrophes more evident than in North America.” The number of what Munich Re refers to as “weather-related loss events,” and what the rest of us would probably...
More »TEN-YEAR FREEZE ON GM TRIALS FAVOURED
Environmentalists, civil society groups and scientists working with marginal farmers have welcomed recommendation of the Supreme Court appointed Technical Expert Committee (TEC) placing a 10-year moratorium on field trials of GM crops in India. The TEC freeze advice includes field trials of Bt transgenics in all food crops which are used directly for human consumption. (See links below for the actual report and more details) The TEC, which was appointed in...
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