-The Hindu The country’s hybrid seed model for cotton favours seed companies over farmers Genetically Modified (GM) pest resistant Bt cotton hybrids have captured the Indian market since their introduction in 2002. These now cover over 95% of the area under cotton, with the seeds produced entirely by the private sector. India’s cotton production in 2019 is projected as the highest ever: 354 lakh bales. Bt cotton’s role in increasing India’s cotton...

-The Hindu It is too ambitious, spectacularly ill-timed, and has brought in too many sectors into its fold On September 25, 2014, the Indian government announced the ‘Make in India’ initiative to encourage manufacturing in India and galvanize the economy with dedicated investments in manufacturing and services. Immediately after the launch, investment commitments worth crores were announced. In 2015, India emerged as the top destination for foreign direct investment, surpassing the U.S....

-Livemint.com News of India recording the world’s most New Year’s Day births seems to have revived talk of a strict population control policy. But there is no need for panic. Nor state intervention. For decades, doomsday theories of our population boom have been used to explainrising poverty and unemployment, food shortages and health crises, environmental degradation and climate change. This New Year’s Day, Unicef, the United Nations’ children’s agency, estimated that nearly...

  Against the backdrop of National Register of Indian Citizens (NRIC), which is expected to be conducted nationwide, there are media reports about detention centres being constructed in various parts of the country. Although media reports indicate the Government denying any connection between NRIC and National Population Register, a reply to unstarred question no 4380 (to be answered on 21st April 2015 in the Lok Sabha) by the Minister of State...

-The Hindu The Citizenship (Amendment) Act provides a path for citizenship to minorities (non-Muslims) from three Muslim majority nations - Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. Data show that religious minorities, including Muslims, in other neighboring countries such as Myanmar, China and Sri Lanka also face persecution. In many countries, minority sects within the majority religions (including Islam) are also persecuted. According to UN estimates, there are over 51 lakh international migrants in India...