-The Hindu ICAR “shielding errant officials” by delaying the report In a damning indictment of the way some Bt cotton varieties were developed and commercialised in the country, a committee headed by Prof. S.K. Sopory, Vice-Chancellor of JNU, found that indigenous Bikaneri Nerma (BN) Bt cotton variety was contaminated by a gene patented by Monsanto. Having found lapses in the “BNLA106 event”, the committee has held as “invalid” the data obtained from bio-safety...
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India could face crippling heat waves -N Gopal Raj
-The Hindu THE SUNDAY STORY An analysis of the output from 18 different global climate models indicates that India’s average annual surface air temperature could go up by between four degrees Celsius and seven degrees Celsius by the end of this century. The warning signs are already out there. Global air and ocean temperatures have risen in response to human-driven emissions, particularly of carbon dioxide. Oceans have become more acidic and the...
More »Weft and warp of a crisis-Vivek S & Aseem Shrivastava
-The Hindu Though more people in India are in the textile sector, than in any other of the economy, bar agriculture, hostile and indifferent government policies are giving it short shrift Handloom weavers from all over the country are on a 72-hour hunger strike at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi from today in protest against the government’s textile policy. The protest is led by Rastra Cheneta Jana Samakhya, the State Handloom Weavers’...
More »Horrific Bangladesh factory fire revealed a gap in safety for global brands-Jim Yardley
-The New York Times ASHULIA, BANGLADESH: The fire alarm shattered the monotony of the Tazreen Fashions factory. Hundreds of seamstresses looked up from their machines, startled. On the third floor, Shima Akhter Pakhi had been stitching hoods onto fleece jackets. Now she ran to a staircase. But two managers were blocking the way. Ignore the alarm, they ordered. It was just a test. Back to work. A few women laughed nervously. Ms....
More »Congress risks Election Commission rap on cash transfer plan -Bharti Jain
-The Times of India By announcing the direct cash transfer scheme and fielding senior ministers from the Congress platform, the Manmohan Singh government may have risked the ire of the Election Commission (EC). The election watchdog will meet on Sunday to deliberate over opposition BJP's complaint that cash transfers are essentially a poll Sop, unveiled ahead of the Gujarat assembly election. The timing of the announcement in November although the scheme is to...
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