The Standing Committee on Chemicals and Fertilizers presented its report on ‘Insecticides and Pesticides – Promotion and Development including Safe Usage – Licensing Regime for Insecticides’ on December 19, 2023. Pesticides are broadly of four types: insecticides, fungicides, herbicides, and bio-pesticides. Herbicides kill/control the growth of weeds, and have the …
Millions of Indians are facing a new health risk. Increasing water scarcity is forcing farmers to grow vegetables and fodder using untreated sewage waste water across urban and rural cities. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FAAI) has in the past issued several warnings on pesticide residues and …
Community gains from genetic engineering Genetic modification / Genetic Engineering (GM/ GE / GMO) is a technology. The entire basis for evolution is constant genetic modification by nature. With conventional breeding techniques, several hundreds of genes move from one plant / animal to another and the beneficial outcomes are selected. …
Biotech industry’s propaganda is false The only transgenic crop grown in India is Bt cotton developed by injecting a toxin from a soil bacterium called Bacillus Thuringiensis [Bt] into a cotton seed through a highly sophisticated process. When planted the seed produces a highly toxic cotton plant. Its roots, stem, …
The district administration will hold awareness classes on the detoxification of huge quantities of endosulfan pesticide kept in godowns of the Plantation Corporation of Kerala. The classes would be conducted by experts in Pullur-Periye, Kayyur-Cheemeni and Panathady panchayats on May 22 and May 24, official sources here said. The experts …
The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) will help transfer endosulfan kept in vessels that have corroded by now in the warehouses of the Plantation Corporation of Kerala in the district to fresh barrels, officials said. The decision was taken at a meeting convened by District Collector V.N. Jithendran here …
Late last year, fishermen began finding dead dolphins, hundreds of them, washed up on Peru’s northern coast. Now, seabirds have begun dying, too, and the government has yet to conclusively pinpoint a cause. Officials insist that the two die-offs are unrelated. The dolphins are succumbing to a virus, they suggest, …
Fruits should be thoroughly washed with fresh/salt water to remove pesticides and other chemicals Consuming seasonal fruits is one of the best ways to stay healthy when braving scorching summer days. Doctors and dieticians say that fruits provided necessary nutrients while keeping diseases away. But, there is concern over carcinogenic …
Chief Minister Oommen Chandy reiterated here on Wednesday that the government would pay the compensation recommended by the National Human Rights Commission to the endosulfan victims in Kasaragod district. Speaking to the media after a meeting of the Cabinet, the Chief Minister said that the Chief Secretary had been asked …
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has summoned Kerala Chief Secretary to appear before it on June 11 along with the compliance report sought by the commission on its recommendations in the case of aerial spraying of hazardous pesticide endosulfan in Kasaragod district and its surrounding areas which resulted in …
The Delhi High Court on Tuesday directed a six-member committee of experts to frame guidelines to deal with the presence of pesticides' residue in vegetable and fruits across the country by August 17. A Division Bench of the Court comprising Justice S.K. Kaul and Justice Rajiv Shakdher passed the direction …
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has asked Chief Secretary K. Jayakumar to appear personally before it on June 11, if the State government fails to take action on the compensation recommended for endosulfan victims in Kasaragod district. The Chief Secretary should file an action-taken report on the commission's recommendations …
Study in the wild to create awareness of conservation The last significant vulture population in the Western and Eastern Ghats are threatened by the indiscriminate use of pesticides, say researchers watching vulture habitats. A team of researchers from CareEarth Arulagam has taken up a detailed study in the wild and …
All the relevant risk factors contributing to breast cancer etiology are not fully known. Exposure to organochlorine pesticides has been linked to an increased incidence of the disease, although not all data have been consistent. Most published studies evaluated the exposure to organochlorines individually, ignoring the potential effects exerted by …
The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) will disburse Rs.35 crore to implement 165 projects as the first-phase relief and rehabilitation package for victims of diseases caused by the aerial spraying of endosulfan. Rs.117-crore outlay. The decision comes as part of the Rs.117-crore outlay earmarked to implement as …
Environmental advocacy group Greenpeace said on Tuesday that an investigation it had conducted found tea bags sold in China by Unilever's Lipton brand contained unsafe levels of pesticide residue, though Unilever said the product was safe and to standard. Greenpeace said in a statement that in March it randomly purchased …
A new biotech corn developed by Dow AgroSciences could answer the prayers of U.S. farmers plagued by a fierce epidemic of super-weeds. Or it could trigger a flood of dangerous chemicals that may make weeds even more resistant and damage other important U.S. crops. Or, it could do both. "Enlist," …
Move comes after NHRC intervention Following directions of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), the Punjab Government has banned the manufacture, import and use of carcinogenic pesticides, which according to reports, caused cancer among the small farmers in the Malwa region that consists of Southern districts — Bathinda, Faridkot, Moga, …
It has been around three years since the High Court ordered industries indiscriminately discharging waste water to install effluent treatment plants (ETPs) within a year. The court on June 10, 2009 also asked the government (industries secretary) to ensure that no new industry is set up without ensuring proper measures …
A coalition of more than 2,000 U.S. farmers and food companies said Wednesday it is taking legal action to force government regulators to analyze potential problems with proposed biotech crops and the weed-killing chemicals to be sprayed over them. Dow AgroSciences, a unit of Dow Chemical, and Monsanto Co. are …
New Delhi: Eminent scientist M S Swaminathan has conveyed his inability to chair a panel on checking pesticide residues in the capital. In a communiquésenttothe government, Swaminathan said he was tied down with work and he won’t be able to become partof the panel.The government on Monday informed HC aboutthedevelopment …
