-The Hindu The Management Information System of MGNREGA is a way to providing data on implementation. But to achieve complete transparency it has to overcome several shortcomings The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) is not only a pioneering livelihood security programme but also a great example of proactive disclosure of information through its Management Information System (MIS). It is the first transaction-based real-time system for any public works programme...

-The Hindu While Monsanto and Indian seed companies spar, more worrying is the confused lawmaking underpinning regulation of patents Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) breed controversy like no other. Little wonder then that Monsanto’s much-maligned Bt cotton has spawned the mother of all intellectual property (IP) disputes in India, involving at least 15 different proceedings in various courts, government agencies and tribunals at last count. Most proceedings appear to have come at the behest...

-Deccan Chronicle Expert said that extra efforts have to be put in to create awareness to take care of pregnant women and babies to avoid malnutrition. Chennai: A lack of awareness on the nutritional value, a superstitious fear that one may become dark and the lack of interest in the taste of ragi and millets are a few reasons why many people in urban as well as rural Tamil Nadu prefer rice. Though...

-Down to Earth A new report by the World Bank finds that extreme poverty is falling globally A new World Bank study on poverty and shared prosperity says that extreme poverty continues to fall worldwide despite the lethargic state of the global economy. However, the report warns that given projected growth trends, reducing high inequality may be necessary for reaching the goal of ending extreme poverty by 2030. In 60 out of the...

-The Hindu Without doubt, India needs to go forward with bio-safe agricultural practices, but the farmers need to be helped to make them sustainable Reshma religiously mixes cow dung and manure in the soil in her farm, hoping for a better yield at least this time around. Reshma is a 22-year old smallholder farmer in a village outside Hyderabad. She is a part of the growing army of farmers in India who...