-The Indian Express The opposition’s main contention is that the GM mustard hybrid incorporates three alien genes — barnase, barstar and bar — rendering it inherently unsafe for human and animal health. Fifty years ago, Union Minister for Food and Agriculture Chidambaram Subramaniam took the decision to import 18,000 tonnes of seeds of Lerma Rojo 64A and Sonora 64 wheat from Mexico. The seeds arrived just in time for their planting in...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: In a stark indication of how far India has to go in developing its highway network, latest official statistics reveal that around 78% of national highways are either one or two-lane affairs. One third are less than two lanes, making the task of four-laning India's economic lifelines a challenging endeavour. A report of the road transport and highways ministry also shows that nearly 40%, including rural,...

-The Hindu Business Line Retail inflation worrisome on regional variations and transportation challenges New Delhi: Retail inflation may have eased to a 13-month low of 4.31 per cent in September, but surging prices continue to pinch the pockets of consumers in rural areas due to regional variations and transportation challenges. Though the consumer price index (CPI)-based inflation in rural areas fell to 4.96 per cent in September, against 5.87 per cent in August,...

-Down to Earth Punjab produces about 19-20 million tonnes of paddy straw and about 85-90 per cent of this paddy straw is burnt in the field Burning of agricultural biomass residue, or Crop Residue Burning (CRB) has been identified as a major health hazard. In addition to causing exposure to extremely high levels of Particulate Matter concentration to people in the immediate vicinity, it is also a major regional source of...

-Livemint.com The transformation of the Indian countryside has been slow and messy One of the celebrated success stories of India’s growth experience over the past decade was the rapid transformation of the countryside, with a massive shift in the rural labour market away from farm jobs. Two labour economists have now challenged the empirical foundations of that success story, raising deep questions on the nature and scale of that transformation. Their research also...