‘We must analyse whether risks are more or benefits are more’  The government should not be in hurry to introduce Bt brinjal until fundamental issues were addressed, agriculture scientist M.S. Swaminathan said here on Saturday. Speaking to journalists on the sidelines of a consultation on “Effective community management of biodiversity in an era of climate change,” Dr. Swaminathan said: “Every technology has its benefits and risks. But it all depends...

Like an avalanche, the groundswell of scepticism regarding the melting of Himalayan glaciers threatens to demolish conventional wisdom to the contrary. To be sure, the deadline of 2035 by which these glaciers would be severely threatened has now been proved wrong. It could be a typographical error, as the Russian scientist whose paper has been used mentioned 2305. Or it could have been licence on the part of some scientists,...

India on Wednesday decried attempts to divert food grains for bio-fuels. “Diversion of grain for fuel is a dangerous trend,” Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma said at the World Economic Forum meeting here. Addressing a session on energy security, Mr. Sharma said diversion of food grains for bio-fuels cannot “subvert” the need for food security. “The cost of food in India has been on a rise over the past year and...

Pratibha urges “out-of-the-box” thinking on agriculture  Involve agricultural economy more pro-actively in growth process Stress on “environment of security” for optimal attainment of growth President Pratibha Patil’s address to the nation on Monday, on the eve of the 61st Republic Day, reflected the common citizen’s worries on two counts: the unyielding price situation and challenges to internal security. She also touched upon climate change, underlining the use of “energy efficient technologies and...

Jharkhand has pulled off a remarkable turnaround in funds utilisation for the Centre’s flagship rural employment scheme, spending around Rs 500 crore in just over four months after September 2009 when it was pulled up by the MGNREGS director in New Delhi for poor implementation. Of Rs 1,600 crore allocated so far to the state under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Scheme for the current fiscal (April 2009 to...