In this paper, assess the impacts of genetically modified eggplant, Bt brinjal, on economic and health outcomes in Bangladesh using a cluster randomized controlled design. Bt brinjal cultivation reduces the cost of pesticide use by 47 percent. This is driven by reductions in the use of pesticides with adverse ecological …
BT, or soil bacteria bacillus thuringiensis, may have been involved in controversy of late over its use in the genetic modification of brinjal, but the bacteria-produced toxin could help battle roundworm infection worldwide, an article published recently in Nature magazine says. Intestinal roundworms, including hookworms and whipworms, infect well over …
Rather uncharacteristically, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is actively intervening in critical issues such as Bt Brinjal and 3G (third generation) spectrum auction to resolve bottlenecks. And it seems to be working. He may have supported environment minister Jairam Ramesh on the Bt Brinjal issue, but Singh
The need of the hour is for an independent evaluation of the long-term impact of transgenics on farm productivity, genetic mutation and bio-safety. Girijaa Upadhyay It was extremely reassuring to see the Prime Minister endorse the decision of the Environment Minister on February 9, imposing a two-year moratorium on the …
Gurcharan Das / March 6, 2010, 0:51 IST Robert Skidelsky, the biographer of John Maynard Keynes, was in town recently, and he reminded us that inescapable uncertainty is the centrepiece of Keynes
HOW CAN A LOWLY VEGETABLE BE AN ISSUE OF NATIONAL SECURITY? IS THERE A FOREIGN HAND IN YOUR BELLY? SHOMA CHAUDHURY LAYS BARE THE COMPLEX STORY OF Bt BRINJAL AND HOW IT AFFECTS YOU THE lowly brinjal you have always known turning into a sci-fi gizmo — with an uncharted …
While the moratorium on Bt brinjal has dealt a blow to the scientific community, there are several genetically modifided crops being developed by the Ministry of Agriculture, trials for which are on across the country. Interestingly, as they work on these GM crops, scientists bear it in mind that apart …
Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh has put a moratorium on Bt brinjal with the Cry1Ac gene. But following fresh discussions on the wisdom of the ban, scientists are betting their hopes on a different Bt brinjal
The story of genetically modified foods doesn't stop at the government's decision to say no to Bt Brinjal. It has taken an extremely curious turn since to touch on questions of freedom of expression and the right to information. For instance, a new draft bill, the Biotechnology Regulatory Authority Bill …
Shiv Visvanathan About the author: Shiv Visvanathan is a social scientist Some of the choices made in biotechnology are evolutionarily irreversible. We have to realise our decisions affect the future in radically new ways, where repair may not be possible While the green revolution was publicly driven, biotechnology is controlled …
Move opposed: K. Sivaraman, Siddha practitioner, addressing a seminar in Tirunelveli on Tuesday. TIRUNELVELI: Speakers at a seminar organised here on Tuesday on
Should Bt brinjal be banned for cultivation? Those who advocate this are closing off the non-pesticide option and arguing in favour of pesticide-based production of brinjal. The use of Bt brinjal could be allowed on a carefully controlled basis, limiting as much as possible the spread of the Bt-gene. Bhaskar …
In days of yore, the Mararikulam brinjal was much favoured by the royal families of Travancore and Amabalapuzha in Kerala. Slender, long and green, this variety has been grown in Mararikulam on the Kerala coast for centuries. The village would supply its choicest brinjals to royalty. So, even as the …
As I write this page, the Union minister for environment and forests is deliberating whether Bt brinjal can be grown and eaten in India. So, at the outset, let me make my own bias clear. I am not an anti-GM person; I have no ideological problems with the use of …
A TUSSLE is on in the government over where to park the National Biotechnology Authority of India. Environment minister Jairam Ramesh on Wednesday said that his department or the health ministry were better suited to be the nodal agency for the autonomous authority. The current draft of the bill, which …
PM Unhappy With Public Spat Over Bt PRIME Minister Manmohan Singh, who normally opts for the path of least resistance, decided to go along with the view that the introduction of Bt brinjal should wait till safety tests are completed and consensus developed on the crop. Mr Singh, who intervened …
Union Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh has cast himself as a lonely crusader for the environmental cause within the government, with no support from any quarter except the Prime Minister and the UPA chairperson. In an interaction with journalists on Wednesday, hours before a meeting called …
