Twenty-five years have passed since that night of terror and death in Bhopal, which saw a cloud of deadly gases explode out of a faulty tank in a pesticide factory and silently spread into the homes of sleeping people. Although no official count of casualties has ever been done, estimates based on hospital and rehabilitation records show that about 20,000 people died and about 5.7 lakh suffered bodily damage, making...

“THE world’s attention is back on your cause.” That was Bill Gates talking to agricultural scientists gathered recently to honour the late Norman Borlaug, father of the Green Revolution. The tycoon-turned-philanthropist was right. This week, the world—in the guise of 60-odd heads of state including the pope—held the first United Nations food summit since 2002. As the world’s attention turns from the receding financial crisis, it is switching to one...

A seminar titled Food Security and Sustainability in India, organized at Amritsar between 7 and 8 November by the GAD Institute of Development Studies, a NGO, at Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, brought together government officials, scientists, academicians and NGOs so as to generate discussions and debates surrounding climate change and global warming and their impact on agriculture. The Copenhagen Summit on Climate Change is going to take place between...

The government has decided to release data for manufactured goods in the wholesale price index (WPI) with a monthly frequency, even as data on primary goods and fuels would continue to be released every week. Further, the revamped WPI would cover about 900 items instead of 435 at present, and the base year is being brought forward from 1993-94 to 2004-05. These changes would make the price index more reliable...

World leaders have mourned the sudden demise of Norman E Borlaug on 12 September, 2009 in Texas, United States. He was 95. He is remembered for his role in bringing green revolution technology that increased food production in ‘hunger’ belts of the world during the 1960s and 1970s. His contribution to India’s self-sufficiency in foodgrain production is well-known. It is his work that earned him the popular title of the...