Activist Vandana Shiva and an Europe-based NGO have jointly opposed a patent awarded to an American company on virus resistance traits taken from indigenous melon varieties in India. The NGOs — Navdanya and No Patent on Seeds — contend that, armed with this patent, the U.S. company (Monsanto) could block access to all breeding material inheriting the virus resistance derived from the Indian melon. Seeking complete revocation of the patent the NGOs,...
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‘Google cannot use India’s IT laws as shield’ by Arpit Parashar
In the case against Google and Facebook for posting “objectionable content” on their websites, petitioner journalist Vinay Rai’s counsel H Hariharan argued in the Delhi High Court (HC) on Thursday that Google could not cite the country’s information technology laws and seek exemption from censoring content since it modified the content on its website to “generate business”. Hariharan argued that Google India could not get exemption under Section 79 of the...
More »From food security to food justice by Ananya Mukherjee
If the malnourished in India formed a country, it would be the world's fifth largest — almost the size of Indonesia. According to Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), 237.7 million Indians are currently undernourished (up from 224.6 million in 2008). And it is far worse if we use the minimal calorie intake norms accepted officially in India. By those counts (2200 rural/2100 urban), the number of Indians who cannot afford...
More »UN launches information system to boost disaster prevention, food security measures
-The United Nations The United Nations launched today an information system to improve and expand the exchange of weather, climate and water data, which can be used for disaster risk reduction, water management, food security and health purposes. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Information System will facilitate access to meteorological observations and products, making it easy to share them with a wide variety of stakeholders. According to WMO, this will translate into free...
More »SMS check on school meal
-The Telegraph Meals Daily, so will be the “feedback”. Come June, the principals and headmasters of 12 lakh government primary schools in the country will have to inform the Centre on a Daily basis through their mobile phones whether they have served mid-day meals. The HRD ministry will start an Interactive Voice Response System (IVRS) under which the headmasters and principals will get messages or calls on their mobiles. “The cellphones of the principals...
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