Three state governments are waging a legal battle against the seed industry over prices of Bt cotton seeds. Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra have cases running in the state courts with the National Seeds Association of India for fixing prices of Bt cotton seeds. The association questioned the state governments’ authority in fixing prices, saying it would hamper seed research in the private sector.   It says only the Union government can...

One of the key demands of the Right to Food Campaign for the National Food Security Act is to re-introduce nutritious millets to government food programmes like the public distribution system. Millets like bajra, jowar, kodo, kutki and ragi among hundreds of other varieties have sustained communities for close to 10,000 years in India. Yet, they have been marginalized as food crops since the days of the Green Revolution in...

  The Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) on Thursday deferred a decision on the Food Security Bill — which seeks to entitle families below the poverty line to rice and wheat at Rs.3 per kg — due to the indisposition of Food and Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar. Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said a decision on the Bill could not be taken due to Mr. Pawar's absence and the issue would be taken...

The first meet of the newly constituted second National Advisory Council or NAC, which is expected to set the social agenda for the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance or UPA government, on Thursday laid down its broad agenda for its functioning. The discussions, which lasted for over three hours, revolved around crucial legislations such as the Food Security Bill, the Communal Harmony Bill and the Forest Rights Bill. The 14-member council later...

Food Security is likely to top the resurrected National Advisory Council's (NAC) agenda when its members gather here on Thursday for their introductory meeting. They will also meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. However, sources in the NAC told The Hindu that before Food Security became a reality, they expect a long hard battle ahead, similar to the one NAC-I faced over the enactment of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act,...