Did the Union food minister hide facts from Parliament on the rotting grains in India? On Friday, Sharad Pawar claimed that the media reports of rotting of millions of tonnes of foodgrains are "quite exaggerated" while arguing that a master plan has been prepared to increase storage capacity. Replying to CPM member Brinda Karat during Question Hour in Rajya Sabha, Pawar said, "The statement which member made that millions of...

Tribal affairs minister Kanti Lal Bhuria has written to environment and forests minister Jairam Ramesh that the committee the latter set up under National Advisory Council member, N C Saxena, is going beyond its purview to tell how the Forest Rights Act should be implemented. He has demanded that the committee should stick to looking at the role of the forest department in view of the Act. The letter, setting...

Acknowledging that the rotting foodgrain was “shameful” , the government told Parliament on Tuesday that aggressive measures will be taken to increase storage capacity in the next 2-3 years. The government was also considering giving infrastructure status to warehouses to attract the private sector into the field in a bid to increase storage space. Responding to a calling attention motion in the Rajya Sabha, agriculture minister Sharad pawar said: “We...

Technological interventions, innovative and fool-proof delivery mechanisms, constant reviews and fixing responsibility at each level ensure that an effective delivery system is in place. The Public Distribution System in Tamil Nadu is a success story, in its coverage as well as its pricing. Each family, whether below the poverty line or not, is entitled to 20 kg of rice at Re. 1 a kg. The State Government opted for universal coverage...

Build-up of different types of resistance could make it more difficult to manage the plants using herbicides. Transgenes present in 80 per cent of wild canola found by study Authorities had anticipated the existence of GM “volunteers” Researchers in the U.S. have found new evidence that genetically modified crop plants can survive and thrive in the wild, possibly for decades. A University of Arkansas team surveyed countryside in North Dakota for canola. Transgenes were...