It is the improper mode of application, violating the law and regulations, that is responsible for the apparent adverse toxic effects of endosulfan. FROM a scientific perspective, an extremely pertinent question in the endosulfan story is why adverse health effects similar to those seen in the villages of Kasaragod district in Kerala have not been reported from other parts of the country where the pesticide is used in much larger...

The government is likely to accept most of the recommendations of Sonia Gandhi-led National Advisory Council (NAC) on the proposed food security law despite warnings that the suggestions would add to subsidy burden, increase dependence on imports and distort the country's food economy. The food ministry has set out plans that are in line with the NAC's proposal to widen the scope of the legislation, which seeks to provide legal...

Bhatta Parsaul was once a quiet farming village but now, as it finds itself at the centre of a major political row, it is strewn with mounds of ash, burnt-out motorcycles, tractors and cars. In early May villagers here clashed with armed police who tried to break up a four-month-old sit-in protest at the village. They had been fighting the terms of the acquisition of their farmland in the Greater Noida...

-Express News Service   The benefits under the Rashtriya Suraksha Bima Yojana (RSBY) have failed to trickle down to the beneficiaries the Below Poverty Line (BPL) families. Though launched as a pilot project in Kalahandi in November 2009, poor management and lack of awareness among the BPL beneficiaries have marred the Cashless treatment provision. Out of the surveyed 2,24,859 BPL families, 1,03,083 families were enrolled in 20092010. Ironically, in the first year, only 1,513...

“Agra ke Taj Mahal se Dilly ke Lal Kila tak Sampark Marg.” According to records, this is one of the projects undertaken under NREGS, for which over Rs 1 crore was spent during the last financial year. But inquiries have revealed that there is no such project on the ground. The matter came up during Minister of State for Rural Development Pradeep Jain Aditya’s recent visit to Varanasi. According to the Management...