Order of the National Green Tribunal in the matter of News Item titled "2 killed in blast at illegal cracker unit in Thanjavur appearing in The Hindu dated 19.05.2025". The application is registered suo-motu on the basis of the news item titled 2 killed in blast at illegal cracker unit …
Ten months after Rajasthan signed its extraordinary memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with seven biotech seed companies, the state government finds itself caught in a cleft stick. Owing to a series of protests by farmers’ organisations, the government has thought it prudent not to execute the MoUs. At the same time, …
Trial plans for biotech version of crops like rice, cotton, corn, castor, sorghum and potato could be delayed since a crucial meeting of the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) was postponed by a month from scheduled date of June 8. The meeting was expected to discuss permission of field trials …
IT is just a 12-member body but the Agricultural Group (AG) of the Association of Biotechnology Led Enterprises (ABLE-Ag) must be about the most powerful lobby groups in India. Among the dozen companies are the world’s largest biotech companies— Bayer BioScience, Dow AgroSciences, Monsanto, PHI Seeds—and a clutch of rising …
If numbers were enough, the case of Organic Seed Growers & Trade Association, et al versus Monsanto would already be won. On March 29, family farmers—in America, this essentially means small farmers; in India it would be redundancy— along with seed dealers and international organic farming organisations, filed an unusual …
WHY would a company with a turnover of Rs 9,712 crore and profits of Rs 933 crore want a research loan of less than Rs 10 crore from the government? Ask the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), which has become venture capitalist to well-heeled industry. In a novel scheme that turns …
DTE: What is that BIRAP offers that private industry cannot get elsewhere? Swarup: When we partner with industry in a project, we give them complete mentorship. It’s not a regular R&D project of the government, that is, we give the money and forget about it. It’s a partnership programme. We …
The Department of Biotechnology is playing venture capitalist to private companies to push agri research. Why would a company with a turnover of Rs 9,712 crore and profits of Rs 933 crore want a research loan of less than Rs 10 crore from the government? Ask the Department of Biotechnology …
The public should be properly consulted ahead of any release of experimental insects. But what do they need to know, and whose job is it to ensure the message gets across? (Editorial)
This report analyses major new developments regarding genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in various regions around the world, including new evidence and testimony from Friends of the Earth International’s member groups. This 2011 edition focus particularly on pesticide use, increasing public and legal opposition to GMOs, and the biotech industry’s move …
THREE months after the country’s top science academies released their controversial report backing genetically modified (GM) crops and hastily withdrew it after it was panned by the scientific community, they are back with an updated report—and the verdict is that it is worse than the original. The Inter-Academy Report on …
Limitations of the national law in remedying biopiracy led to the negotiations on an international regime in Access and Benefi Sharing. The deliberations were stuck for a long time due to the extreme divergent views of the developed countries on the one hand and of the biodiversity rich developing countries …
There is no doubt US President Barack Obama was in India on a business trip. His recent electoral losses weighed heavily with him when he stitched up deals, reportedly worth US $10 billion,that would create about 50,000 jobs back home. In this editorial Sunita Narain looks at the ABCDE of …
There is no doubt US President Barack Obama was in India on a business trip. His recent electoral losses weighed heavily with him when he stitched up deals, reportedly worth US $10 billion, that would create about 50,000 jobs back home. His visit and the sweetener of support for India’s …
Rajasthan signs agreements with seven biotech companies to restructure agriculture. Read this special report on the fundamental shift in the way farming operates in India by giving private companies access to the state’s research facilities to test and market their hybrid seeds and other technologies. In an unprecedented step, Rajasthan …
Lobbying, as we now know, sets the agenda for practically everything that governs our lives. No policy is ever made without someone seeking to gain from the most innocuous of programmes and projects. Take something as simple as inoculations. Governments cannot even take a decision on inoculating children against some …
IN AN unprecedented step, Rajasthan has entered into memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with seven biotech seed firms, two of them among the largest in the world, to tone up its agriculture. It signals a fundamental shift in the way farming operates in India by giving private companies access to the …
