The United Nations health agency today released its first ever list of the most vital medicines for saving the lives of mothers and children, and stressed the need to ensure their availability in developing countries. The list of the top 30 medicines includes oxytocin, a drug used to treat severe bleeding after childbirth, the leading cause of maternal death, as well as simple antibiotics to treat pneumonia, which kills an estimated...

The Centre is likely to send a team of experts to Jharkhand to monitor the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) that it believes has been taken over by a contractors’ mafia allegedly behind recent murders of an activist and labourer associated with the job scheme. In an exclusive interview to The Telegraph, Union secretary for rural development B.K. Sinha refused to give out names, but insisted that the...

An inter-ministerial group set up by the government to keep a watch on inflation and suggest measures has reiterated the need to revise the mandi law that prevents competition among buyers for farm produce. The group headed by chief economic advisor Kaushik Basu said the Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) Act needed to be revised to encourage competition among traders and promote efficiency in retailing. Kishore Biyani , Chairman, Future Group...

Modern biotechnology and biodiversity are basically concepts of Science but have been politicised in the name of conservation and sustainable development, said biotechnology and medicinal plants consultant C Kameshwar Rao. Delivering the keynote address on modern biotechnology, biodiversity and sustainable development at the national conference organized by the Karnatak University department of Botany in Dharwad on Monday, the former professor of Bangalore University said biotechnology approaches had diversified from genetic engineering...

Small-scale farmers can double food production within 10 years in critical regions by using ecological methods, a new UN report* shows. Based on an extensive review of the recent scientific literature, the study calls for a fundamental shift towards agroecology as a way to boost food production and improve the situation of the poorest. “To feed 9 billion people in 2050, we urgently need to adopt the most efficient farming techniques...