-The Hindu Apprehensions of various sections must be allayed: M.S. Swaminathan UDHAGAMANDALAM (Tamil Nadu): In matters relating to genetically modified (GM) food crops, the government should ‘hasten cautiously,' said eminent agricultural scientist M.S. Swaminathan. He was speaking on the sidelines of a visit to the Wheat Breeding Research Station of the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) at Wellington, near here, on Tuesday. When asked about differences within the government over conducting field trials of GM...

-Survival International Anthropologist Dr. Felix Padel works with the tribes of Odisha in eastern India, including the Dongria Kondh, for whom Survival International has campaigned for 10 years. Felix is the great great grandson of Charles Darwin and lives in a remote village in Odisha. In this interview, he talks to Survival about the Dongria Kondh's relationship to their mountains, their heroic struggle against Vedanta, Darwin's evolution theory and the experience...

-World Resources Institute India struggles with water scarcity, a problem that poses especially huge implications for the country's food security and rural livelihoods. The country has long-battled its scarcity issues through Watershed Development, a participatory approach to improve water management through afforestation and reforestation, sustainable Land management, soil and water conservation, water-harvesting infrastructure, and social interventions. But while watershed development has been employed in communities throughout India, its potential long-term costs...

-The Indian Express New Delhi: In 97 per cent of the rape cases reported this year, the crime was committed by a person known to the victim, police data reveals. In 40 per cent cases, the crime was committed by a family member or neighbour, data shows. This year, 1,559 cases of rape were reported against 680 in 2012. According to police data, in 33 cases the father was named as accused and,...

-Association for Democratic Reforms Press Release   New Delhi: The amendment made in the RTI Act by the Parliament that proposed to keep political parties outside its ambit has been approved by the Parliamentary Committee, entrusted with the task of reviewing it despite much opposition from civil society organizations and citizens. In a Landmark decision on June 3, 2013, the Central Information Commission (CIC) pronounced that the political parties (INC, BJP, CPM,...