Reply affidavit on behalf of the Central Ground Water Board in the matter of Suo Moto case titled "Haryana 60.48% groundwater over exploited Kurukshetra worst Jhajjar best says" appearing in the Tribune, January 8, 2025. The CGWA report, May 3, 2025 addresses the issue of groundwater exploitation and violation of …
Centre approves field trials of 14 GM crops. But some states refuse trials, saying safety regulations are too lax. With politicians joining activists, the issue is likely to take a politically volatile turn. This special report in DTE uncovers the mess in GM crops. As India gets ready to unleash …
“This magazine is not a product of a desire to capture share of the information market. It is a product of a need and desire to fill a critical information gap.” Anil Agarwal, founding editor of Down To Earth, wrote this in his introduction to the launch of the fortnightly …
THE Himalayas are warming at a rate higher than the global average. A recent study documents how this has affected cropping patterns and vegetation in the past 10 years. The questionnaire-based study examined changes people observed between the altitudes of 600 metres and 2,200 metres in the Himalayas. Published in …
AT daybreak on March 11, there was a burst of activity at Litchi Lawn, a corner plot on the sprawling campus of the Pusa Institute in Bihar’s Samastipur district. Workers were uprooting the maize growing in a small patch of land close to the office, intent on finishing their work …
How do you propose to deal with conflict of interest in GEAC? Around three months ago a document called Declaration of Independence was prepared. Scientists who are members of GEAC were asked to sign it. The declaration states that a scientist can take decisions independently. If a GEAC member is …
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 …
Why are bees important to humans? The 20,000 or so species of bees are the principal pollinators of plants, both in gardens and in the wild. If you like having flowering plants around, for the most part you need to have bees around. There is a need to create awareness …
The State government has planned to provide farmers with agro logistics at a cost of Rs 2,000 crore, to ensure better price for agriculture produces. Agro-zones, for better price addition The proposed logistic service will focus on procurement of produce and setting up cold storages, said Economic Advisor to chief …
Tea grown on the steep slopes of Darjeeling hills, connoisseurs swear, is unlike anywhere else in the world. Epicures use a plethora of adjectives to describe the “champagne of teas”: brisk, flowery, round, mellow and sparkling. Brewed properly, the Darjeeling tea leaves yield a thin-bodied, light-coloured liquor with a floral …
Farmer-breeders are an unsung tribe. In far corners of the world, farmers study the seeds they use, experiment with them, do simple back-crossing to improve yields and taste, and quite often come up with winners. Some farmers are geniuses when it comes to improving their seed and introducing simple but …
IN A landmark amendment to the law governing Maharashtra’s water regulatory system, the state has placed agriculture above industry in priority for allocating water from dams. Before the amendment of the Maharashtra Water Resources Regulatory Authority (MWRRA) Act 2005, Maharashtra was the only state in the country to have given …
AHMEDABAD: Chief minister Narendra Modi told visiting Israel consul general Orna Sagiv on Wednesday that farmers in Gujarat were eager to adapt new technology in farming. "If business houses of Israel involved with agriculture arrange an agro fair in Gujarat, the state government will give full support to them," Modi …
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 …
GRAIN traders along with farmers are looking forward to the resumption of wheat exports after a gap of four years as India heads for record production of the grain. India, the biggest wheat producer after China, had banned the crop’s export in 2007 to ensure food security. In the last …
RESIDENTS of a village in Wankaner taluka of Rajkot district in Gujarat are celebrating a March 16 high court order directing release of water into a canal, that is their sole source of irrigation. The canal had dried up two years ago when Ajanta Infrastructure of Orpat group of companies …
Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar is rooting for endosulfan just before the fifth Conference of Parties (COP) of the Stockholm Convention meets in Geneva India softens its stand on endosulfan Day 5- April 29: The last day of the Stockholm Convention, ushered some good news for all those crusading against …
Once-parched and barren Barmer is turning over a new leaf. About five years ago, Poona Ram, 45, shifted from this desert district of Rajasthan to Gujarat in search of work. He was unable to support his family at a place that could not give him employment. But Poona Ram returned. …
AT A time when the world is pushing for organic farming, the US is advocating the no-till method. Tilling, a process that turns soil inside out, helps develop a good seed bed while destroying weeds, insects and microbes. Organic farming requires land to be tilled to control weeds and pests …
A mango that resembles an apple or smells like grapefruit. A mango that shrinks, but does not rot. But for the conservation initiative of a farmer in Karnataka’s Mandya district, such fruits would have been part of folklore. “These trees bear Tipu Sultan’s mangoes,” says Syed Ghani Khan of Kirgaval …
