-The Indian Express The case in the Supreme Court must be a wake-up call for the Centre With the Supreme Court scheduled to take up a report proposing a ban on field trials of genetically modified (GM) food crops, India’s quest for food security hangs in the balance. Hearing a petition against GM crops, the court had appointed a technical expert committee. Its report is in, and its findings make for a...

-Al Jazeera Treaty to ban chemicals that harmed the ozone layer came about when there was consensus between science and politics. In 1974, chemists Mario Molina and Frank Sherwood Rowland published a landmark article that demonstrated the ability of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) to break down the ozone layer, the atmospheric region that plays a vital role in shielding humans and other life from harmful ultraviolet (UV) radiation. It marked the opening salvo of...

-IPS News Environmental activists are cautiously optimistic that a call by a court-appointed technical committee for a ten-year moratorium on open field trials of genetically modified (GM) crops will shelve plans to introduce bio-engineered foods in this largely agricultural country. “We are now waiting to see whether the Supreme Court will accept the recommendations of its own committee at the next hearing on Oct. 29,” said Devinder Sharma, chairman of the Forum...

-The Indian Express Governments of three Congress-ruled states — Maharashtra, Haryana and Uttarakhand — have written to Minister for Environment and Forests Jayanthi Natarajan seeking a review of her tough orders that have led to the stalling of key infrastructural projects and slowed down job creation. Earlier this year, the Environment ministry had issued guidelines fixing the minimum width of roads between highrises 15-30 metres tall at 15 m, for 45-60 m...

-PTI Amid reports of discrimination against students admitted under RTE, the government today issued fresh guidelinesprohibiting schools from announcing community, castes or tribes of students and labelling students as reserved category in classes. School shall prescribe procedures and mechanism to deal with complaint and will be obligatory on its part to decide such complaints within a maximum period of 60 days from the date of receipt or submission of complaint, the...