-The Telegraph   The Mamata Banerjee government today struck at the foundations of a crony real estate network that allegedly flourished during the reign of CPM leader Gautam Deb and was spreading its reach by co-opting operators from the Opposition as well. The government disbanded the authority that had arranged the land for Vedic Village, abolished the Hidco chairman’s quota for distribution of plots and decided to review all New Town land...

Indian plant biotechnologists feel demoralised and displeased at the recent developments concerning genetically modified (GM) crops. Their dismay is chiefly because the indefinite moratorium on the release of genetically engineered Bt-brinjal has clouded the prospects for several other GM crops that are in the pipeline. Intensive scientific effort and heavy investments have gone into the development of these crops. Their displeasure is largely because the present opposition to the GM Technology...

-The Economic Times   Dear Smt Gandhi, We, a group of academic economists, are writing to you about the proposed National Food Security (NFS) Act legislation that is of profound importance to India's economy. We believe that it is appropriate that India pursues the goal of genuine food security for all through a law that guarantees a minimum transfer to every adult except a small subset of the most affluent who...

Just ahead of German Chancellor Angela Merkel's visit to India where she will hold delegation- level talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday, Berlin decided to shut all its nuclear power reactors by 2022. The decision is expected to have wide-ranging ramifications in India as those opposed to nuclear power, including the movement at Jaitapur, will claim vindication in what is being described as a drastic reversal of policy...

Simmering differences between civil society members and government representatives spilled over on Monday after an attempt was made to bring the prime minister and the higher judiciary under the purview of the Lokpal Bill. In its fifth meeting on Monday, while government representatives—including senior Union ministers Pranab Mukherjee, Kapil Sibal, M.Veerappa Moily, P. Chidambaram and Salman Khursheed—expressed their reservations, civil society members said their demand was “non-negotiable” and threatened another agitation. While...