Union Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh was heckled by farmers and others opposing Bt Brinjal at a public meeting on the introduction of the genetically modified (GM) vegetable in the country by a US multinational. Ramesh was greeted with protests when he arrived at the Central Research Institute for Dryland Farming on the outskirts of this city for the meeting on Sunday. Scores of protestors, including farmers, activists...

The capital got a fulsome dose of the country today, and the country a swift pledge from the capital. Within hours of swarming in from the restive western Uttar Pradesh neighbourhood and trapping New Delhi in feisty gridlock, farmers had forced a retreat by the government on sugarcane pricing and sent the Congress panicking over the electoral consequences of provoking rural anger. Rahul Gandhi, who is blue-printing the Congress’s comeback bid in...

The Genetic Engineering Advisory Committee (GEAC), a regulatory body comprising of scientists which works with the Ministry of Environment and Forest, has finally waved the green flag for commercial cultivation of Bt brinjal in India on 14 October, 2009. The present recommendation of the GEAC has met with opposition from Greenpeace (http://www.greenpeace.org/) and a host of other civil society organizations. However, commercial cultivation of Bt brinjal may take a year...

Civil society groups and non-governmental organisations have strongly voiced their disapproval of the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) recommending commercial cultivation of Bt Brinjal in India. This is happening even as there are many unresolved issues surrounding the environmental release of the transgenic vegetable and genuine concerns over its safety for human consumption. There is also the threat of all future seeds and therefore Indian agriculture coming under the control...

Taking a leaf out of the Andhra Pradesh’s book, Rajasthan Government has decided to institutionalize social audits for effective monitoring and implementation of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS). A part of the Ashok Gehlot-led Government’s commitment is to set up a full time Directorate of Social Audits to ensure regular execution of social audits and their follow ups. The new programme is likely to be launched on October...