A brinjal engineered through biotechnology to kill plant-eating insects, the focus of a sharp and bitter debate about the safety of genetically modified plants, has leapt closer to dinner tables in India. The government’s apex safety review panel for genetically engineered products today approved the release of the brinjal into the environment, turning it into India’s first GM food crop ready for commercial cultivation. The final clearance now rests with...

The UPA is in damage control mode over allegations that Indian officials took millions of dollars as bribes to help American companies secure government contracts. Five ministries are investigating specific charges of bribery against their officials, after the Indian ambassador to the US wrote a letter to the Centre. The Agriculture Ministry has asked the CBI to investigate allegations that US-based Dow Chemicals paid $ 200,000 to register 3 of...

Unlike earthquakes, which can neither be predicted nor prevented, floods are both predictable and, to a large extent, preventable. The country has an elaborate, country-wide flood warning system in place, with two well-equipped central agencies — the India Meteorological Department (IMD) and the Central Water Commission — charged with this task. Despite this, the receding monsoon has caused devastating floods in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and maharashtra, killing hundreds of people...

Growing numbers of elected representatives fund their poll campaigns with corporate backing. And growing numbers of people with a big business background have ventured directly into the electoral arena.  Corporate Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid’s call for restraint, however mild, on the CEO feeding frenzy at the compensation trough, seems the least objectionable statement made by a Minister in months. (Contrast this, for example, with the Agriculture Minister’s warning that people...

NEW DELHI: Floods that have ravaged parts of southern and western India is likely to hit the grain production in the country, leading to higher prices of essential commodities such as rice, pulses, jowar, bajra and certain category of vegetables. While the extent of the damage caused by the sudden burst of floods in Karnataka, Andhra, maharashtra and Goa is yet to be assessed, the governments at the Centre and...