-The Hindu They say Supreme Court-appointed panel's recommendations reasonable Even as the final report of the Supreme Court-appointed Technical Expert Committee (TEC) on open field trials of genetically modified crops is awaited, 51 independent international scientists with expertise in genetic engineering and biosafety protocols have approved the panel's Interim Report. The report has called for a 10-year moratorium on open field trials of Bt food crops until adequate regulatory mechanisms and safety...
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Normal monsoon may give UPA some help
-The Times of India Rains could bring some relief to the UPA in the pre-election year with the meteorological department on Friday projecting a countrywide normal monsoon for 2013. The forecast should allay government's fears of food inflation jumping again over the 10% mark after being only partially tamed in the last quarter of the financial year. The weather office said that rainfall would be within the normal range - 98% of...
More »Withdraw BRAI Bill, say 16 MPs
-The Hindu Hyderabad: Sixteen MPs of Opposition parties, have appealed to the Centre to withdraw the Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India (BRAI) Bill in view of the flaws it had. The MPs pointed to the inherent conflict of interest in the Bill in that it was introduced in Parliament by the Union Ministry of Science and Technology which is also promoting GM crops. The provisions showed limited public participation, no transparency, lack...
More »Landmark verdict -V Venkatesan
-Frontline The Supreme Court's ruling against Novartis' patent claim for the cancer drug Glivec paves the way for generic drug companies to keep crucial, life-saving drugs affordable to the common people. By V. VENKATESAN IN their 112-page judgment delivered on April 1, Justice Aftab Alam and Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai of the Supreme Court began with a simple proposition: in order to understand what the law really is, it is essential to...
More »Panel for ban on mining in 37 % of Western Ghats-Priscilla Jebaraj
-The Hindu Identifying 37 per cent - or about 60,000 square km - of the Western Ghats as ecologically sensitive, a high-level panel has recommended that "destructive" activities such as mining, thermal power, major construction, and some hydel power projects should not be allowed there. However, the panel was silent about any restrictions in the remaining 96,000 square km area, thus creating the perception that it had diluted earlier recommendations that the...
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