A new bill leaves little scope for dissent on GMOs by Savvy Soumya Mishra If the nationwide furore over Bt brinjal was driven by the fear of unsafe food being pushed down the throat, the proposed Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India (BRAI) bill goes a step further to silence all opposition. The bill will bring about changes in regulating the research, transport, import, manufacture and use of genetically modified (GM) products in the country.
Will demand for eco-friendly foods means a decline in artisnal skills? by Sudhansu Das, journalist and writer, Pune
Technology is helping public sector banks find customers in rural India. This is part of the Centre's efforts to include villages in the organised financial system; to ensure they are not cheated of their wages. Pilots show promise
A website helps people observe and understand nature while gathering scientific data by Sumana Narayanan If there is a neem or jamun tree in your backyard, check it regularly and note down when they flower and fruit. You may soon realise you are collecting data for scientific research. The National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS), a research body in Bengaluru, plans to rope in people for creating an online database on the lifecycle of various plant species across the country and on the influence of climate change on them.
Government offers Rs 25,000 each to 109 BPL families to relocate; villagers turn down the offer by Ashutosh Mishra, Khurda Pabani Pradhan, 42, looks 60. She can’t walk on her own. Joginath Pradhan, 60, Pabani’s neighbour, uses crutches. Sukant, 24, the sole breadwinner of a family of six, cannot move out of the village to fit tiles in people’s houses any more because his body has become stiff. Fluorosis has crippled them, and other residents of Balsingh-Singpur in Khurda district of Orissa.
Indian politicians travel on public money – for what they can learn from the click of a mouse by Mathew Thomas, Bangalore Citizen’s Action Forum
Vedanta gets tracts of thorium rich land along the Orissa coast for a university. Allegations fly by Ruhi Kandhari Mining giant Vedanta’s proposed university in Orissa will not only be one of the few in the world with an outlay of Rs 15,000 crore and spread across 2,400 hectares, it will also sit on land rich in thorium deposits.
A 125 year old shop sells herbal medicines in the lanes of Chennai by Sumana Narayanan A month ago I found myself dodging traffic in one of Chennai’s older areas, Mylapore. I was on an errand to buy a herbal medicine for a cousin. The shop I was looking for is well-known but hard to locate.
Quality of forests is as important as tree cover by B K P Sinha, former principal conservator of forests, Uttar Pradesh
Spiralling prices of pulses have shown India’s dependence on imports. Pulses are integral to India’s diet but not its food policy. As a result, supply cannot meet demand. What are the consequences and solutions? by Savvy Soumya Mishra
National Parl runs the risk of losing UNESCO heritage status by Bharat Lal Seth Except 2008, the Keoladeo national park in Rajasthan has been receiving little or no water for the past six years. A seasonal breach of a dam upstream was the source of the water till 2003, the year the breach was repaired. Nobody at the time thought of the repercussions on the park.
Rooftop radiation binds the Mobile Tower Grievance Forum by Rajil Menon
The Ladakhi way to beat the cold by Ravleen Kaur, Leh and Kinnaur In the chilly month of December when nerves freeze and hands shiver, there is nothing more comforting than a hot cup of tea. But even the spiciest and strongest brew would fail at 3,500 metres above sea level, where temperatures plunge below -20°C in a ruthless winter. People in the Himalayan region, the highest mountain range in the world, know how to beat this cold—with a cup of warm gurgur cha.
But eco-tourism could still be people friendly by Neelambry Phalkey and Seema Purushothaman, Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and Environment, Bengaluru The holiday season is just over. Many of us would have encountered advertisements with words like “eco hotel” and “eco tours” to lure us to experience “nature’s lap” or “wilderness”. You might think such businesses are nature friendly. But they could turn out to be quite the contrary.
Electric and hybrid vehicles are gaining a foothold because they are cheap and clean. But batteries are either expensive or short-lived. Their future rests with industry’s innovation and government’s support. by Vivek Chattopadhyaya The glitz and glamour at the biggest auto show in Delhi drew the highest number of footfalls ever. The show unveiled dreams and many of them had a green wrap this time. Amid the slew of small cars at the expo, held on January 5-11, was a line-up of electric and hybrid vehicles.
People living in and around Aurangabad were getting round the clock water supply through underground pipelines at a time when most cities in medieval India relied directly on wells, ponds and rivers. These conduits dating back to the 17th and 18th centuries transported water over long distances through gravitational pull much like the aqueducts of ancient Rome that supplied water to cities, their public baths and fountains.