-Livemint.com Soaring sales of herbicide tolerant, genetically modified cotton seeds put farmers across states at risk New Delhi: Regulatory failure has led to a surge in sales of unapproved herbicide tolerant (HT) genetically modified (GM) cotton seed packets in the ongoing Kharif planting season, putting thousands of farmers at risk across states such as Maharashtra, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat. The regulatory failure has been precipitated by the fact that the genetic engineering...

-Livemint.com The new subscribers to EPFO likely represent formalization of a section of the regular workforce rather than new additions to it New Delhi: Ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the jobs debate in India has heated up once again. Spokespersons of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) claim the Indian economy has created an unprecedented number of jobs over the past couple of years. The opposition as well as some independent...

-Livemint.com Nearly 1,000 fewer women now die of pregnancy related complications each month in India, says the Sample Registration System Bulletin-2016 New Delhi: India has registered a 22% reduction in maternal mortality ratio (MMR) since 2013, according to the Sample Registration System (SRS) Bulletin (2016) released on Wednesday. Amongst the states, Uttar Pradesh with 30% decline has topped the chart in the reduction of maternal deaths. Nearly 1,000 fewer women now die of...

-Livemint.com Harsh Vardhan says GM mustard is a very contentious issue and said a lot of opinions have been expressed for and against its introduction New Delhi: Even as the government continues to put on hold its final decision on release of genetically modified (GM) mustard for commercial cultivation, Union science and technology minister Harsh Vardhan said that the proposal has not been shelved and remains under consideration. Vardhan emphasized that GM mustard...

-Livemint.com According to the National Family Health Survey data, the average age at death for Dalit women was 39.5 years against 54.1 years for higher-caste women New Delhi: Dalit women in India die younger than upper caste women, face discrimination in accessing healthcare and lag behind on almost all health indicators. While violence against Dalits may be the main form of discrimination visible to the outside world, there are many other ways in...