The debate on genetically modified crops is gaining momentum again. However, this time, it seems the engineered food is losing ground to traditional crops. Eleven farmers from Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu made a series of submissions explaining the havoc wrought by Bt cotton on their farms. Their main contention was that Bt cotton had not given them economic benefits. As a matter of fact, they had become poorer, their soils had...
More »SEARCH RESULT
Total Matching Records found : 5366
CBI men back on fodder dirt trail by Suman K Shrivastava
A Jharkhand High Court whip, issued to the CBI two months back, has put fodder scam cases against former Bihar chief ministers Lalu Prasad and Jagannath Mishra on the fast track. The CBI, which has been handling as many as 53 fodder scam cases for one and half decades, is now under pressure to complete investigations in the 15 pending cases, of which five involve the two former chief ministers and...
More »New MGNREGA social audit norms to make them independent by Anindo Dey
The social audit of schemes under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Gurantee Act (MGNREGA) now permits the involvement of outsiders in the process as facilitators. A new set of rules framed by the ministry of rural development for such audits has been approved. Christened Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Gurantee Audits of Schemes Rules 2011, the rules ensure the audit process is independent of agencies implementing the scheme and the...
More »Growth as tool to alleviate poverty
The Prime Minister's focus on double-digit growth is not due to any ‘growth mania'. It is for the benefit of the poor. At a recent function for police officers, the Prime Minister observed: “If we don't control Naxalism, we have to say goodbye to our country's ambition to sustain a growth rate of 10 to 11 per cent per annum.” Some commentators (like Prof Prabhat Patnaik of JNU) interpret this (in a...
More »Less than activist by Madhav Khosla
Judicial review of executive action is not unique, but the remedy in the CVC case is a departure from the court's record of approach to corruption. THE Supreme Court's decision to declare the appointment of Chief Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) P.J. Thomas as non-existent in law has stimulated much debate. The political fallout of the ruling has been widely studied, with pundits pondering over how seriously it may impact the Prime Minister's...
More »
