-India Spend India's transition to sustainable farming has to be calibrated and orchestrated well, drawing lessons from the successes of India's Green Revolution and the recent crisis in Sri Lanka, says sustainable farming expert P.S. Vijayshankar Bengaluru: The production-centric intensive agriculture brought about by India's Green Revolution in the 1960s, using high-yielding seeds, fertilisers and high levels of groundwater utilisation, helped India achieve food self-sufficiency by the 1970s, but has created a...

-The Hindu “It would have been better if seed production trials take place in a controlled rather than in an open environment so as to assess various risks before conducting open field trials,” read a statement by the AIPSN. Following the go-ahead for production and field testing of hybrid seeds of genetically modified (GM) mustard, All-India Peoples Science Network (AIPSN) has demanded that the open field tests, if any, be conducted with...

-Down to Earth Over 100 doctors across India submit letter to PM Modi warning of health concerns Doctors across India have come together to express their concern against the plantation of genetically modified (GM) mustard crops, which recently received the Centre’s go-ahead for its environmental clearance. A letter has been submitted by 111 doctors across various fields to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, demanding immediate uprooting of the trial plantations of the genetically modified...

-The Tribune US spearheading move to force developing countries to open up to imports The US filed a fresh complaint against India at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) last week. In its submission, the US sought withdrawal of India’s import restrictions on genetically modified (GM) foods, including rice and apples. It said the demand for a non-GM certificate was disrupting American agricultural exports. This comes at a time when for no apparent...

-The Hindu How significant is the development of the Dhara Mustard Hybrid-11 (DMH-11)? Why are some activist groups opposing the commercial release of the crop? What are their allegations? How many transgenic crops are commercially cultivated in India? The story so far: The Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC), India’s apex regulator of genetically modified plants and food products, has approved the environmental release of Dhara Mustard Hybrid-11 (DMH-11), a genetically-engineered variant of...