-TheWire.in Bhatt is a recipient of the Padma Bhushan, India's third-highest civilian award. New Delhi: Renowned women’s rights Activist, Gandhian and founder of the Self Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) Ela Bhatt passed away in Ahmedabad on Wednesday. She was 89. “It is with profound grief that we announce the passing away of our beloved and respected founder, Smt. Elaben Bhatt, a pioneer in advocating for women workers’ rights, we strive to carry her...

-The Hindu How significant is the development of the Dhara Mustard Hybrid-11 (DMH-11)? Why are some Activist groups opposing the commercial release of the crop? What are their allegations? How many transgenic crops are commercially cultivated in India? The story so far: The Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC), India’s apex regulator of genetically modified plants and food products, has approved the environmental release of Dhara Mustard Hybrid-11 (DMH-11), a genetically-engineered variant of...

-The Hindu Allow more flexibility at the ground level, says internal study commissioned by the Ministry of Rural Development An internal study commissioned by the Ministry of Rural Development has argued for decentralisation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), allowing for more “flexibility” at the ground level.  The Ministry recently made public the report of the sixth Common Review Mission which surveyed seven States — Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh,...

-The Hindu While Supreme Court has voiced concerns over their increasing use to prove a case, women’s rights Activists deem the technology an empowering tool Deoxyribonucleic acid or DNA tests occupy a grey area in the quest for justice, vacillating between the dangers of slipping into self-incrimination and encroachment of individual privacy and the ‘eminent need’ to unearth the truth, be in the form of evidence in a criminal case, a claim...

-The Hindu Proposal to go for Environment Ministry’s clearance; Activists oppose The Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) that functions under the Union Environment Ministry has yet again cleared the proposal for the commercial cultivation of genetically modified (GM) mustard. The recommendation will now again go for the approval of the Environment Ministry. Though the GEAC had cleared the proposal in 2017, the Ministry had vetoed it and suggested that the GEAC hold...