Jarawas: to protect or not

A RECENTLY released video showing Jarawa women dancing in front of tourists has triggered a debate on whether the ancient tribe of Andaman and Nicobar Islands should be brought into the mainstream. In this context, an expert committee of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs has recommended the Central government should not alter the policy of protecting the Jarawas from exposure to the outside world until studies are conducted on their concerns and aspirations. The Jarawas, whose population is just about 300, are known to have little immunity to outside illnesses.

Untangling India’s Bt cotton fraud

WHEN the much-awaited public sector Bt or genetically modified (GM) cotton was released for cultivation in 2009, there was celebration in the scientific establishment. And in the farming community Bikaneri Narma (BN Bt) was trumpeted as India’s “completely indigenous Bt variety” and farmers were looking forward to cheaper cotton seeds. There was an added advantage to BN Bt: unlike the Bt hybrids of private companies the Bt variety could be reused by cultivators. Along with the variety, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) also released the Bt NHH 44 hybrid.

Indian law caught in web

THIS is one series of court cases the nation is following keenly. Within one week, in December last year, a criminal and a civil complaint were filed against 20-odd online giants like Google, Facebook, Microsoft and Yahoo for hosting anti-religious and anti-social content on their websites. While the judge hearing the civil case ordered immediate removal and blockade of all controversial content from the web forums named in the plaint, the trial court summoned their top executives for violating the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The companies then approached the Delhi High Court for relief, citing that the matter of hosting objectionable content has been oversimplified and does not address the nuances of the way the Internet works.

Cleared at cost of biodiversity

THE UNION environment ministry has given in-principle clearance to a proposed hydro-project on the Alaknanda river, a tributary of the Ganga, in Uttarakhand. The 300 MW project had been rejected twice by the statutory body which recommends forest clearances, the forest advisory committee (FAC). FAC says the project lies in the buffer zone of Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve (NDBR), a home to many endangered species.

US sets mercury emission limits

TO MINIMISE the largest source of pollution from coal-based and fuel oil power plants, America’s environment protection agency has set the first ever mercury and air toxics standards (MATS). Some 7,000 power plants in the country will now have to reduce their mercury and other toxic emissions levels.

Ministry indifferent to illegal mining

Difficult to digest

AIDS agency orders cheap drug

THE National AIDS Control Organisation in November procured in bulk anti-HIV drug stavudine, which is being phased out worldwide. NACO officials unofficially cite funds crunch for depending on the low-cost drug. Stavudine requires less monitoring of patients, they say. NACO provides free treatment to HIV/AIDS patients in the country.

Nirma loses wetland

THE union environment ministry has revoked the clearance it had granted to the detergent giant Nirma to construct a cement plant in Gujarat. The 1.91-million-tonnes-per-annum plant is under construction in Mahuva block of Bhavnagar district.

Coal prices set to change

THE system of grading coal in India will change from January 1 so that it complies with the global standards. The switch, announced by the Union Ministry of Coal, will hit the power sector hard.