-The Hindu Business Line Pushpa M. Bhargava, former Vice-Chairman of National Knowledge Commission, has defended the recommendations of the technical committee, appointed by the Supreme Court, which called for a moratorium on the field trials of genetically modified crops. “The recommendations are in consonance with the increasing evidence and awareness in the two American continents where over 90 per cent of the world’s GM crops are grown that the increasing health problems...

-The Hindu India’s roads are deadlier than ever. The high rates of death and disability expose the lack of an organised system of traffic management and safety. Road safety is no one’s responsibility. It is time to make someone accountable. On the final day of this year’s ‘puja’ season in Chennai, a particular roadside temple near the iconic Central Railway Station had the long annual line of vehicles — vans, tempos, taxis,...

-The Telegraph Nisha Kumari, a Class VIII student in Uttar Pradesh, has taken her school to court because it charges fees her father cannot afford. The Dalit girl from Hathras district today petitioned Allahabad High Court to direct the government-run Girls’ Inter College in Sasni to stop charging her — or any other student — any fee till they reach Class IX. Else, Nisha’s petition said, she may have to drop out of...

-The Times of India Unjustified judicial intervention could compromise the good the right to information is doing Perhaps the biggest contribution of our Parliament towards promoting greater accountability in independent India is the enactment of the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005. If, as they say, information is power, then the RTI Act has been a veritable 'Brahmastra' in the hands of the Indian public. It has been extremely successful in...

-Live Mint Bill will be put before cabinet in next few weeks; legislation is expected to address rehabilitation, resettlement  New Delhi: The government moved a step closer to put in place a new land acquisition policy, after a ministerial panel overcame differences and struck a compromise. The Bill will now be put before the Union cabinet for its approval in the next few weeks. If indeed the government sticks to the proposed...