-The Hindu Over the years we have lost over a lakh varieties of native rice. One district in Odisha is rediscovering some of them It is a balmy winter morning when I meet Kamli Bataraa, an ebullient Adivasi farmer, at her home in Belugan, in southern Odisha’s Koraput district. There is a hum across the village from the threshing of just-harvested paddy. When I ask Kamli about the rice varieties she grows,...

-Livemint.com GM mustard is as safe and nutritious as regular mustard, the environment ministry says, even as India awaits ts final word on commercial production New Delhi: Genetically modified (GM) mustard plants are as safe and nutritious as regular mustard, the environment ministry said, even as the country await its final word on commercial production. In the backdrop of protests against GM mustard, the ministry on Saturday published an eight-page Frequently Asked Questions...

-The Hindu Doctors’ objections to prescribing medicines by generic names fly in the face of a recent report on substandard drugs In a surprise move on April 17, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that his government will soon make it mandatory for doctors to prescribe medicines by generic names. The decision was to ensure drug prices remain affordable and patients get a wider bouquet of options instead of being forced to...

-The Hindu Online media companies don’t take responsibility for their content, he says Sam Pitroda, regarded as the father of India’s telecom revolution, says that he is deeply concerned with the way social media is being misused globally to propagate lies, hatred and false ideas. In an interview, Mr. Pitroda says that in India also, social media has not been used effectively and technology is not meant to be misapplied. He says...

-The Times of India MUMBAI: In the last five years, over 28 lakh units of blood and its components were discarded by banks across India, exposing serious loopholes in the nation's blood banking system. If calculated in litres, the cumulative wastage of 6% translates to over 6 lakh litres —a volume enough to fill up 53 water tankers. India faces, on average, a shortfall of 3 million units of blood annually. Lack of...