Scientists, activists are locked in

Deepak Pental, former vice-chancellor of Delhi University and currently director of the university’s Centre for Genetic Manipulation of …

'The world's entire gene-pool is open for manipulation'

INDRA VASIL was one of the first scientists to successfully manipulate wheat plants using genetic engineering techniques. Before he came in, …

"Polluters are today's environmentalists"

Crusader for the rights of over eight million Indian fisherfolk, Thomas Kochery , 57, made news headlines when he rejected the US $150,000 …

Software freedom

On Richard Stallman's personal homepage it says, "America means civil liberties. Patriotism is protecting them." Words that sum up the …

Justice league for people’s rights

In June 1979, an innovation in the field of law and politics came about in the form of Permanent Peoples’ Tribunal. The idea behind it is …

"Real power lies with people"

Christine Milne , leader of the Tasmanian green party, was recently in New Delhi to attend the New Horizons programme, an effort to promote …

'Global cooperation needed to reduce food insecurity in Iraq'

About 2 million Iraqis are now displaced within the country because of the current crisis brought on by ISIS militants, the Syrian conflicts and …

ILO push to stop discrimination against people with HIV/AIDS at work place

The International Labour Organisation (ILO), in collaboration with the Union Ministry of Labour and Employment and the National AIDS Control …

‘Independent India worse for tribals’

Widely respected in the civil society, B D Sharma spent his life fighting for the rights of tribals for about four decades. Excerpts from a …

"I have always been an environmentalist"

Russi Mody, chairman of Tata Steel, defends his organisation's involvement in the controversial Chilika Aquatic Farms Ltd project in Orissa.

"Women know how to manage better"

SMITA GHATE was assistant collector in Madhya Pradesh's Sagar District from January 1997 to January 1998. She was transferred for taking a …

Prevention is the only cure

Diseases due to change in the environment are on the rise, especially in India. Olavi Elo , World Health Organization (who) representative in …

We have enough water. We only need proper water management

D K Chaddha , chairperson, Central Ground Water Authority (CGWA), New Delhi, talks to Jitendra Verma on the state of groundwater in India

'The forest mafia is very powerful'

AJAY S RAWAT spent six months in the Indo-Nepal terais to trace the methods of timber smugglers

EU eyes Indian scientists

The European Union (EU) road show to attract Indian scientists and forge collaborations with India concluded recently. During this event, EU …

Lessons from the colonial past

Twenty-two years ago, the publication of a book, Indian Science and Technology in the 18th Century, by an unknown Gandhian, DHARAMPAL, took the …

‘India has not given due attention to food-borne infections’

Neelam Taneja is a professor at the Department of Medical Microbiology and in-charge of the enteric laboratory at Post Graduate Institute of …

"The North is driven by the industry"

Christine von Weizsaecker is a senior microbiologist based in Wuppertal, Germany and the vice-president of Ecoropa, the premier European …

`Ancient Indian literature displays exact knowledge of environmental phenomena'

Retired diplomat and well-known translator of ancient Sanskrit texts, Aditya Narayan Dhairyasheel Haksar recently released the reprint of his …

`Irresponsible reportage can harm business'

Vishal Nath, director, National Research Centre for Litchi (NRCL), says there is no scientific evidence to prove that acute encephalitis syndrome (…

Bhutan: Pursuit of happiness

Karma Tshiteem is the secretary of the Gross National Happiness Commission, the novel name of Bhutan’s Planning Commission. He tells Aditya …

IISc is not working on terminator genes

Goverdhan Mehta , director, Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore, talks to N Raghavan on the need to sharpen the institute's focus and …

"We have to produce more rice using less water"

Robert Zeigler, director general of the Manila, Phillipines-based, International Rice Research Institution (IRRI) talks to Sourav Mishra about …

`Growing food is like printing your own money'

Ron Finley grows food and for this he has been branded as a guerilla gardener, a renegede, an ecolutionist. It all began four years ago, when Ron,…

Syringes that lock after use to be launched in India

Use of unsafe syringes causes over 1.3 million deaths the world over each year, according to the World Health Organization. In India, single-use …