A large number of cotton farmers from across Gujarat are expected to come to Rajkot on Friday to protest against the central government's cotton export policy. Maha Gujarat Agricotton Producer Company LIMited (MGAPCL), a co-operative cotton marketing firm owned by farmers, has organised a farmers' gathering at Rajkot for protesting the government's stand on cotton export. This comes in the wake of the central government's decision to defer the commencement of cotton...

  The sea change that India’s national scheme for rural employment guarantee has accomplished is hard to fathom, its vastness touching the lives or more than 100 million people. The National Rural Employment Guarantee Act of 2005 (NREGA, subsequently renamed after Mahatma Gandhi, or MGNREGA) was a landmark in Indian legislation. Under the act, as of April 2008, for the first time in India’s history, all rural citizens have a legal right...

A new United Nations report showing significant progress in improving access to HIV/AIDS services in 37 developing countries offers realistic hope for the achievement of universal access, a UN official responsible for battling the pandemic said today. Towards Universal Access, produced by the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and released today, assesses progress in 144 low- and...

Tembhali, a remote village with a population of 1,552 in the Satpura range of tribal-dominated Nandurbar district, wears a festive look. It has undergone a total facelift with tarred roads, painted walls, banners and posters — largely of the ruling Congress party — and uninterrupted power supply. The reason for this makeover: the village will host the launch of the Centre’s much-vaunted Unique Identification programme, or Aadhaar, by Prime Minister Manmohan...

India’s six science academies have certified genetically modified brinjal as safe through a report whose largest section is plagiarised from a biotechnology propaganda newsletter, a coalition of non-government organisations has said. The six science academies have in a report submitted to the Union environment ministry argued that GM brinjal appeared safe but recommended a LIMited release, calling for post-marketing surveillance for health effects if any. But a coalition of environmental groups today...