-The Hindu Business Line Norman Borlaug is regarded as the ‘father' of the Green Revolution. It's his birth centenary today We cannot talk about India's Green Revolution without mentioning Nobel laureate Norman Borlaug, the globally renowned wheat scientist. He was a great friend of India and the Indian farmer in particular. Indeed, when he died in September 2009 aged 95, there was great sorrow in the Green Revolution belt in Punjab and Haryana. As...

-The United Nations To mark World Water Day, the United Nations is highlighting the key role that water and energy play in economic development and the eradication of poverty worldwide, and calling for strong measures to ensure their efficient and equitable use. In his message for the Day, focused this year on the interdependence between the management of water and energy, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon noted that "they interact with each other...

-Down to Earth Jan Swasthya Abhiyan sends charter of demands to political parties As elections approach and parties announce candidates' lists, Jan Swasthya Abhiyan (JSA), the Indian circle of People's Health Movement, is trying to convince all political parties to include health as a prominent issue in their manifestos. After discussing the matter with other civil society members and groups, JSA has sent a charter of demands to political parties. While finalising the demands,...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Taking a major step forward to scientifically assess 'risk' and 'safety' aspects of transgenic crops, the government's top regulator - Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) - on Friday revalidated 10 varieties of GM crops including wheat, rice, maize and cotton and allowed multi-national seed companies to go for "confined field trials" of these varieties. The companies like Monsanto, Mahyco and BASF whose applications got revalidation...

-Economic and Political Weekly The targeted public distribution system is fraught with leakages. With the Food Security Act in place now, policymakers face a greater challenge in curtailing leakages and improving delivery on a much larger scale. This article studies a project in Uttar Pradesh which uses mobile phone SMS to monitor PDS supplies and fi nds an enthusiastic response from the users, even if the project itself has not worked...