Cotton conundrum

The powers that be are hanging fire on Bt cotton despite long and intensive research. Indira Khurana delves into the baffling issue

Rules and renegades

Pesticide regulations in India are lax. The industry has exploited the loopholes to corrupt the system. And the government has turned a blind eye …

Industry's Nemesis

A report by the National Institute of Occupational Health nails endosulfan. Is that why the pesticide establishment wants to keep it under wraps?

The age of discovery

Research in rice genomics could be the key to eradicating hunger through environmentally sustainable methods, says Latha Rangan

Don’t touch

Half the toys tested have unsafe phthalate levels

Prominent Indian tea brands contain pesticides: Greenpeace

Study finds 67 per cent of tested samples of packed tea leaves contained banned pesticide DDT; some samples had acutely poisonous monocrotophos

Even the womb does not protect against pesticides

Air pollution is certainly an enemy of health. But there are others that may be even nastier. Chlorpyrifos -- a pesticide that can easily enter …

Microplastics all around: A silent epidemic

All types of sea creatures ingest microplastics; as they move up the food chain, the plastic ends up in the human gut

Why Brazil’s new pesticide rules should worry India

The country’s dilution of rules for pesticides such as glyphosate could spell a health crisis in India, which consumes its beans

Kashmir’s Dal Lake harbours bacteria that can degrade pesticides

The presence of naturally-occurring bacteria that is resistant to an insecticide widely used in the region may help in bioremediation …

Can farming mean a permanent renewal of life?

For the past three decades, the practice of permaculture has found acceptance from not just rural communities in India but also from urbanites …

In the Parliament on March 15, 2016

Here’s a round-up of today’s debates and reports on environmental and developmental issues

World Cancer Day: 'Toxins in the environment are a major problem'

With the rise in the number of cancer cases reported in India every year, prevention and affordable treatment will become critical in battling …

A hurried job

Karnataka government’s survey to estimate the scale of endosulfan tragedy is a half-hearted attempt

‘Policies will infuse objectivity in health research’

Several health and research policies in the country are either in draft stage or just recommendatory in nature. This hampers regulation of …

Smart spraying can help cut pesticide use in orchards

Researchers reported that a sensor-based spraying system saved as much as 26% in the use of pesticides and achieved an efficiency level of 95% in …

Codex adopts stricter food safety standards

The international food standards body has adopted stringent laws on pesticides in food and arsenic residue in rice 

‘PESTICIDES’ IN DRUGS

Sharad Pawar’s provision for protecting test data in the Pesticides Bill could spill over into trade agreements and hit the drugs industry, too

Wheels of pollution

No one is tracking the substantial amount of lead that escapes into the environment from car tyres

Centre wants to ban a host of pesticides: Here’s why

Centre proposes banning monocrotophos, methomyl and carbofuran, three Class I pesticides associated with high levels of toxicity that resulted in …

Contaminating millets

There is disquiet over government scheme to wean traditional millet farmers on chemical inputs

Food production experts call for more “quality and indigeneity” in agriculture

The remarks were made at a two-day event in Delhi to discuss how food systems can best be transformed in line with the 2030 Agenda for …

India bans 18 pesticides, has many more to go

The ban is delayed and addresses only a part of the problem of toxic pesticides in India

A pest gene can help fight pesticide contamination in environment: study

A group of reseachers from Pune have isolated an enzyme from a pest which can be clean up pesticide residues from food and environment

Policies must be aimed at building capacity of soils, not promoting agrochemicals: experts

Scientists and practitioners deliberate on how to reverse soil degradation by taking cognizance of principal causes and policy gaps