-DNA The Centre has always claimed that the country has a robust regulatory mechanism Busting the claims of the Indian government and scientists that the country has a robust regulatory mechanism to test genetically modified (GM) crops, toxic loopholes are emerging. From 2008 to 2014, only 39 of the 133 GM crop field trials were properly monitored, leaving the rest for unknown risks and possible health hazards to common people. Documents accessed...

-The Hindu District Mineral Foundations were set up to protect the interests of Adivasi communities who have borne the costs of mining. But they are flawed in their current form Through 2011-13, dogged investigators from the Justice M. B. Shah Commission on illegal mining toured the rust-red villages, forests and rivers of northern Odisha, and trawled through reams of official records including from the environment, minerals, railways, and revenue departments. They met...

-India Today Agriculture powerhouse Madhya Pradesh still suffers from high levels of malnutrition, a contrast that exposes our flawed food policies Madhya Pradesh in mid-March is heavy with the scent of the Mahua blossom. Heaped at village bazaars, and now restricted largely to brewing liquor, its pungent smell is fast disappearing from indigenous tribal stews and curries. On the road to Petlawad and Alirajpur on the western edge of the state, farmers...

-Hindustan Times Dindori/ Indore: Ujiyaro Bai, a Baiga tribal, who has for years worked for the conservation of forests in MP, has been invited to attend the World Forestry Congress to be held from September 7 to 11 in Durban, South Africa. The XIV World Forestry Congress, hosted by the Republic of South Africa, will bring together the global forestry community to review and analyse the key issues and to share ways...

-The Hindu When Sreenivasan took up farming, the thumb rule was that pesticides would not be used Kochi: As we go about farming the fields using fertilisers and pesticides, who’s tending the dense and diverse vegetation in forests — which have more fruit-bearing trees and edible roots? The question by Subhash Palekar, noted propounder of zero-budget farming, got actor Sreenivasan thinking about modern farming practices. “Everything that’s there to nurture vegetables and fruits...