With 35 deaths reported in 2009 at the Asha Kiran home for the mentally challenged, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) submitted a report in the High Court citing deplorable medical attention, poor administration, lack of adequate staff and unhygienic conditions as reasons for the deaths. Placing the report before a Division Bench headed by Chief Justice A P Shah on Wednesday as a PIL on the...

Agriculture scientist and Rajya Sabha member M.S. Swaminathan on Tuesday described the government’s moratorium on commercialisation of Mahyco’s Bt brinjal until independent studies established its safety, as “a wise and appropriate decision.” He said it was appropriate not to hurry and to look at the problems to the satisfaction of all. The government should utilise the time to put in place a credible, effective and transparent system for the benefit of...

Planning Commission member Abhijit Sen on Monday said the government should have acted with more firmness against hoarders and speculators, to curb price rise. Dr. Sen said that whenever prices start rising some people see in it an opportunity to make money. The government should have acted against such a tendency with a firm hand. He was speaking to journalists on the sidelines of the Green Revolution II conference organised by...

Social networks like the twitter are abuzz with thought for food, and the Greenpeace India is preparing to cook world’s biggest ‘baigan bharta,’ to create public opinion against genetically modified crops. While the debate over the Bt. Brinjal heats up, the case of the humble ‘baigan’ is widely seen as the precursor for a flood of GM crops. (See links below for a wider picture). The Greenpeace has launched an on-line...

The Narmada Control Authority (NCA) has taken no decision on raising the height of the Narmada dam that is under construction in Gujarat as the rehabilitation and resettlement sub-group and environmental sub-group are yet to submit their compliance report. At its 82nd meeting held here on Friday, the NCA, chaired by Water Resources Secretary U.M. Panjiar, asked both the sub-groups to expedite their recommendations on the status of rehabilitation of the...