Sesikaran says Bt crop’s long-term effect on health can be studied only if it’s approved for commercial production Concerns raised by agriculture scientist M.S. Swaminathan, cited by the government as among the reasons to put a halt to the release of Bt brinjal, will be impossible to address, according to the head of a state-run laboratory. Swaminathan, 84, credited with the success of the Green Revolution of the 1960s that made India...

NINe years after the state’s creation, the cabinet today decided to set up a human rights commission in Jharkhand. The modalities to make the body functional is expected to be worked out soon. Principal secretary, cabinet co-ordination, Aditya Swaroop said according to the Human Rights Protection Act of 1993, all states ought to have a human rights commission. Such commissions are already in existence in Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala,...

Though people oppose refinery expansion, officials record their statements as favourable for project  The official record of the public hearing on the Vedanta Aluminium’s plan to expand its refinery in the foothills of Orissa’s Niyamgiri Hills seems to contradict itself. While the people said “no” to the project, the officials recording their statements concluded with a “yes”. The public hearing, held on April 25, 2009, contributed to the decision of several...

The Centre plans to manacle the RTI Act When the UPA passed the landmark Right to Information Act in 2005, it was meant to empower citizens. The law promised transparency, accountability, and the end of corruption in governance. But in under five years, the government is planNINg to push through amendments that will dilute the law. Ironically, the amendments are being pushed through in a totally opaque manner. There has been...

India's food inflation rose for the fourth straight week in early February, heighteNINg worries that it was driving up headline inflation past official forecasts and increasing the chance of the central bank pushing up rates. The food price index rose 17.97 percent in the 12 months to February 6, higher than an annual rise of 17.94 percent in the previous week, data released on Thursday showed. The fuel price index rose...