-The Times of India NEW DELHI: At the very fag end of the forgettable existence of the 15th Lok Sabha, Parliament on Friday passed the Whistleblower Protection Bill. The Rajya Sabha cleared this crucial anti-corruption law a good two years after it was passed by the Lok Sabha. The delay was not because the elders brought some new wisdom to the proposed law. In fact, the Bill, seeking to ensure the safety...

-Down to Earth Japan's Sapporo brewery patents Indian barley gene without giving benefit to farmers Ballia district, the easternmost part of Uttar Pradesh, is a flood-prone area that extends towards Bihar from the confluence of the Ganga and the Ghaghra. Over decades, its farmers, mostly marginal and small, have been cultivating barley, exchanging its seeds, improving the varieties and giving these to a government project to cull the best of the lot....

-The Hindu A farm whether in one acre or a few acres must encompass as many crop varieties as possible and also some animals to be remunerative. "Monocropping (growing only one crop) is now a fading practice among several farmers since they are realising that for their economic safety and better returns it is Important to grow additional crops. "In some areas in Madhya Pradesh farmers grow a main crop in a...

-SouthAsianMedia.net Stating that India's health sector is in a "dismal condition", Nobel laureate Amartya Sen yesterday said over reliance on private health sector without the availability of basic public health services would lead to exploitation of vulnerable and under-informed patients. "The state of healthcare is dismal," Sen said while addressing the press conference at the 11th Kolkata Group workshop, which was organised by Pratichi (India) trust. "We are not against private healthcare, but...

-The Hindustan Times Several Important councils and committees formed and headed by Prime Minister (PM) Manmohan Singh have either not met even once or only rarely, according to a Right to Information (RTI) reply procured by HT from the Prime Minister's office (PMO). Important committees on nutrition, skill development, climate change, and micro, small, medium enterprises (MSME) - all under the PM's stewardship - haven't met for years, says the RTI query. Interestingly,...