Genetic approval committee rejects transgenic groundnut INDIA’S Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) has rejected a request by University of Agricultural Sciences in Bengaluru to conduct trials on transgenic groundnuts for commercial development in difficult terrain. The university wanted to conduct trials for drought and salt tolerance. GEAC noted that transgenic groundnut expresses transcription factors— proteins that bind to specific DNA sequences—namely DREB2A, DREB1A, DREB1B and PDH45, to improve its stress tolerance. DREB2A...

A law empowering Indians to seek information from government to promote accountability and transparency has brought change to urban India, but has largely left out the country's rural poor, social activists say. The Right to Information (RTI) Act - similar to the Freedom of Information Act in the United States - was enacted almost five years ago and is aimed at providing a practical way for all citizens to access...

In the first study of its kind, a group of scientists will map climate change vulnerability in all the north-eastern states of India. The study, to be completed by end-July, will focus on threats to agriculture, Forestry, water and livelihood resulting from climate change in the fragile region. The study will be conducted jointly by scientists from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bangalore, Jadavpur University, the Indian Institute of Technology...

There are numerous debilitating factors that disallow Indian agriculture from growing to its potential. The most critical of them, which, ironically, are not receiving due attention, are related to land. Not only is the availability of land for farming shrinking, but its quality and fertility are also waning. Agricultural holdings are getting smaller and turning uneconomical to operate. The much-hyped land reforms have, right from the beginning, been misdirected. These have...

In India (and elsewhere) we have several people’s struggles which are protesting against displacement and trying to protect their sustainable life-styles and livelihoods based on farmlands, pastures and forests, rivers and coastal areas. These struggles involve farmers, forest-produce gatherers (tribals particularly), pastoral people, fisherfolk and others with related livelihoods. These traditional livelihoods have been passed on from generation to generation, but are now increasingly threatened on a scale never seen...