GM maize and its health implications for humans

Michael Antoniou, head of the Nuclear Biology Group in the UK, has been studying the health effects of genetically modified (GM) crops since 1995.…

Remembering Nammalvar: farewell, organic saint-warrior

G Nammalvar, the agriculture scientist who pioneered organic farming movement in Tamil Nadu, passed away on December 30 at the age of 75. He …

How MGNREGA blew Rs 10,853 crore

The “little known” success story of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) has unfolded as a disaster. …

Energy transition is now a must

Marie-Hélène Aubert, adviser to the French president for international negotiations on climate and environment, was recently in New …

'CBD has lost its track'

Bolivia is one of the few countries that has consistently been opposing treating biodiversity as a commodity at the ongoing Conference of Parties …

'They asked me to withdraw my court case'

P PARDHA SARADHI is tenacious. This mild-mannered professor at the Department of Environmental Studies at the University of Delhi (DU) has …

My report is not an industry report: T S R Subramanian

The High Level Committee (HLC), constituted by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) three months ago to …

Village protesting Kundankulam bans poll campaigning by any party

S P Udayakumar, coordinator of Peoples’ Movement Against Nuclear Energy, has been spearheading protests against the Kudankulam Nuclear …

'Biodiversity authority needs autonomy'

Balakrishna Pisupati was the first biodiversity expert to head India's National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) and had more than six months to go …

‘China growth model cannot be universal’

Wen Teijun, dean of Renim University in Beijing, has been documenting the world's agrarian history and turmoils. He initiated the New Rural …

Urban India's deprived lot

India is becoming dominantly urban, and the urban poor, who are increasing in numbers, face exclusion from basic amenities like safe drinking …

Linkage between science and public policy has weakened

M S Swaminathan, popularly known as the father of India’s Green Revolution, has been associated with national agricultural research system (…

'We are using the sea as a dustbin'

The Indian coastline no longer belongs to its traditional custodians—the small fisher people. A jamboree of development—cities, SEZs, …

'We need to promote the culture of donating breast milk'

Armida Fernandez, founder trustee of Society for Nutrition, Education and Health Action, started the first human milk bank in India in 1989 in …

‘Watershed conservation can benefit 700 million people in 100 big cities’

Indian cities are struggling to fight water stress. Cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Jodhpur are going to areas located far away to source …

‘Separate power feeders can greatly improve rural electrification’

Over 65 years after Independence, nearly half of the 800 million people living in rural India are yet to get access to electricity. A major …

Southeast US will bear the worst of this year’s winter, says AccuWeather

This US-based independent weather agency set off gasps of dread and many counter-forecasts last week when it indicated “the return” …

`Many doctors are simply businessmen'

Samiran Nundy, chairperson of the department of surgical gastroenterology and organ transplantation at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital and editor-in-chief …

'Elephant conservation is not exactly anybody’s priority'

M D Madhusudan is an ecologist and conservationist with Nature Conservation Foundation in Mysore, Karnataka. An elephant expert, he is a member …

Lowland rice is a carbon sink

Pratap Bhattacharyya, senior scientist at the Central Rice Research Institute (CRRI) in Odisha, along with his team at the institute, says rice …

‘People often talk of the Gandhian model of development, but if such a model is genuinely Gandhian then it is not about development’

Mahatma Gandhi never used the words environment protection. However what he said and did makes him an environmentalist. His writings are replete …

Whose budget is it, Mr Jaitley?

Being the first full year budget of the National Democratic Alliance government, there was expectation that the finance minister's announcements …

Private sector is profiting from vacuum left by ICAR

In the agriculture research hierarchy, Swapan Kumar Datta occupies the second rung, one of eight deputy director generals (DDGs) in the Indian …

The minimum radioactive dose for treating thyroid cancer

The approach to treating thyroid cancer has changed over time. One method is using radioactive iodine to kill left over cells after surgically …

'Punjab Contract Farming Act protects traders’ interests'

In April this year, the Punjab Assembly passed the Punjab Contract Farming Act. The new law provides a legal framework to regulate contract …