-The Times of India LUCKNOW: A scientifically validated anti-diabetes herbal drug, named 'BGR-34', was launched by a Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) lab in Lucknow on Sunday. A combination of natural extracts from plants, the drug is based on Ayurveda and has no side effects. The drug is for management of type-II diabetes mellitus. The drug has been jointly developed by two CSIR laboratories, National Botanical Research Institute (NBRI) and...

-Down to Earth Even as studies point out the use of these pesticides in food commodities, coordination gaps between concerned deparments have not been addressed In a scheme for monitoring pesticide residues in food commodities, the Ministry of Agriculture has found that 12.5 per cent of samples analysed contained non-approved pesticides. The 2014-15 annual report of the ministry's Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare contains data related to use of pesticides,...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: India scored an important success when it fully protected its traditional knowledge by stalling a leading UK-based laboratory's move to patent a medicinal composition containing turmeric, pine bark and green tea for treating hair loss. The move comes just days after India foiled a similar attempt by US-based consumer goods giant Colgate-Palmolive from patenting a mouthwash formula containing herbal extracts. The vigilance of the Traditional Knowledge...

-The Hindu “Temblor might occur tomorrow, or 50 years later, but it will hit the State” Dehradun: In the wake of the recent Nepal earthquake, the possibility of a temblor of magnitude 8 striking Uttarakhand has come up for discussion. A research article, “Geomorphology reveals active décollement geometry in the central Himalayan seismic gap”, says a 700-km-long “central seismic gap” on the Himalayan front had not ruptured in a major earthquake in 200-500...

-The Hindu For any skill development effort to succeed, markets and industry need to play a large role in determining courses, curriculum and relevance The Union Budget 2015 paved way for the launch of a much-awaited National Skills Mission to complement Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ‘Skill India' and ‘Make in India' exhortations. However, much work needs to be done on the ground for the government to prove that this step is a...