-The Financial Express The previous government gave in to Luddite, anti-development NGOs and deferred the introduction of GM food crops in our country. The present government seems to be held in thrall by an unusual coalition of nativists and leftists. In the process, the Indian farmer is suffering. It appears that, for several years now, we have been importing edible oil derived from GM oilseeds. The oil importers lobby are OK...

-Business Standard FY10 was a drought year with a monsoon rainfall deficiency of 22 per cent of the 50-year average, resulting in a seven per cent dip in the total foodgrains production. But, that did not dampen the consumer sentiment as the auto sector grew by 26 per cent, fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) 25 per cent and the consumer durables sector by 21 per cent. The momentum continued the following year,...

-Livemint.com New Delhi: Back from a walk through drought-affected parts of the country, Yogendra Yadav, political scientist and co-founder of non-profit Swaraj Abhiyan, speaks on state compliance of Supreme Court orders, a booming private water market in Marathwada, and why farmer movements are weakest at a time when agrarian distress is at its peak. Edited excerpts from an interview: * You just came back from a trip to Bundelkhand and Marathwada. What...

-Hindustan Times Chennai: The year was 1986. It was a hot, humid day in June when Dr Suniti Solomon first discovered that the deadly HIV/AIDS virus had made its way to India. Then a young doctor, Suniti was testing 100 sex workers as a part of a research project at the Madras Medical College (MMC). Little did she known that a small, humble Madras laboratory’s preliminary research would precipitate a medical challenge on...

-CivilSocietyOnline.com For the past decade state governments have launched a series of Internet-based initiatives to deliver services more efficiently. Technology has been seen as the best way of bypassing red tape and corruption in the system to reach the poor directly with benefits. Beneficiaries are identified through biometrics and a series of tech solutions like smart cards, micro ATMs and so on. The result of these efforts is that India is...