Professor Syed Iqbal Hasnain, whose research on the melting of the Himalayan glaciers, led to a major controversy, on Wednesday blamed “certain prejudicial forces” for mounting a campaign against his “diligent” research. Speaking out for the first time since the London-based The Times quoted him as saying that his findings on the Himalayan glaciers melting by 2035 in the impact of climate change were “speculative,” Professor Hasnain said “vested interests...

More than 15 persons representing non-governmental organisations (NGOs) from Kerala will attend a public consultation being organised by the Ministry of Environment in Bangalore on January 25 on permitting commercial release of genetically modified brinjal (Bt brinjal) in the country. Union Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh had announced the holding of consultations at different places following protests against the approval granted by the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee...

As part of its campaign against “paid news,” the Editors Guild of India has asked all editors to endorse a pledge that they will act against any attempt to put out advertising as news without proper disclosure. Editors have also been requested to publish/broadcast the editorial statement in their respective publications/channels to arrest the erosion of public faith in the credibility and impartiality of news reporting. This editorial statement is...

The government needs to allocate more funds for public health. The mismatch between the declared objective of universal healthcare through the public health system and the actual level of expenditure remains serious.  One of the three most important planks on which Barak Obama won the U.S. presidential election was the country’s healthcare system, which he promised to fix. Indeed, the most important legislative measure initiated by Mr. Obama so far...

At least two cases of hunger deaths have been reported from Jabalpur district of MP and Chittorgarh district of Rajasthan in the past few weeks. The two states are run by different political parties-- the BJP and the Congress-- but there is quite a lot common in the victims’ circumstances. Both families were among the poorest in their villages but were not included in the BPL list and both the...