The issue had rocked the state during the past few weeks amid news reports that a huge number of sheep, goat and cattle perished in Andhra Pradesh after eating Bt Cotton leaves.
Are post-harvest Bt Cotton fields death traps for sheep? If reports from Andhra Pradesh are any indication, Bt Cotton is set to embrace another controversy soon.
The National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) is all set to file the country's firstever bio-piracy criminal case against companies involved in developing BT Brinjal by using its local variety, a top official said.
Bacillus Thuringiensis Brinjal, popularly known as Bt brinjal, is at the centre of a major controversy in India. Bt brinjal, a genetically modified strain created by India's number one seeds company Mahyco in collaboration with American multinational Monsanto, claims to improve yields and help the agriculture sector.
Cotton farmers in India are going to get a bountiful of hybrids to select from this year onwards.
The Bt brinjal issue had been firmly opposed by civil societies, NGOs and a section of scientists and health experts on the genetically modified vegetable's effects on human health and soil fertility.
The Bacillus Thuringiensis (Bt) brinjal episode will not impede the research work being carried out in the field of food and crop biotechnology in the country, a top scientist said.
Such a drastic intervention overrides existing private bilateral commercial contracts
Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar on Thursday brushed off all allegations and reiterated his support for the introduction of Bt brinjal. He asserted that the introduction of the genetically modified brinjal can take place as it has been recommended by Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC), a scientific body, after carrying out a series of trials and tests on its impact on nature.
Union Minister of State for Environment and Forest Jairam Ramesh was on Sunday gheraoed in Hyderabad by people opposed to the introduction of Bt Brinjal in the country.The protesters from Left-affiliated farmers' outfits and Swadeshi Jagaran Manch raised slogans like 'Bt Go Back' and mobbed the minister on the dais at an event organised at the Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture in Hyderabad.
BT has been associated with Tech Mahindra since the latter's inception and contributes 40 per cent to the firm's revenue but it has been looking at divesting its stake.
Although, global slowdown is the main reason behind the move, officials said the land, which was meant for the IT-BT Park, has now been allotted to other industries for expansion purposes leaving no place for the project.
By embargoing Bt brinjal, Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh may have done a greater service to democracy than he intended, says Praful Bidwai.
Amid reports that its chairman Christopher Bland has sought Indian government's help to resolve a bandwidth-related dispute with VSNL, British Telecom said it is engaged in a mutually beneficial dialogue with VSNL.
Even as the country awaits the final word on genetically modified brinjal, seed company Monsanto is moving ahead with new products.
BT Group Plc, Britain's largest fixed-line telecom provider, said on Friday its BT retail unit would set up two call centres in India, joining a long list of firms moving to that country in a bid to cut costs.
The moratorium imposed on Bt brinjal last year is likely to continue, despite the expert committee, set up by the environment ministry, favouring "limited release" of the crop.
BT group, the UK's incumbent telecom operator will acquire Mumbai-based i2i Enterprise Ltd, a company specialising in Internet protocol services to become a leading global carrier in the local market.
The Biocon chairman said there is a regulatory path for GM crops which aims to establish safety and efficacy over an accepted period and it has been diligently followed by Bt brinjal on the basis of which the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee has given its positive verdict.
Buoyed by the initiatives taken by the government in the communication sector, UK telecom major, British Telecom, on Thursday said it would look at the option of starting services in India in IT and BPO sector.\n
Communications solutions and services provider British Telecommunications' (BT) Indian arm, BT India (BTI), on Tuesday said it will invest 375,000 pounds (about $558,418) for setting up its Asia Pacific security operations centre (SOC) in the country.
British telecom giant BT has offloaded 9.1 per cent stake in Tech Mahindra for Rs 1,011.4 crore, marking its exit from the Indian IT services firm.
Agriculture being a state subject, the Centre could not impose its policy on states, Madhya Pradesh agriculture minister Ramkrishna Kusmaria, who was in Thiruvananthapuram to attend a two-day national meet on genetically modified crops, told PTI.
The whitefly outbreak has intensified a debate over GM crops just as Prime Minister Narendra Modi's office reviews a proposal to allow farmers to grow GM mustard.
During his month-long tour, Ramesh would seek views from scientists, agriculture experts, farmers' organisations, consumer groups and non-government organisations on the report submitted by the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee on Bt brinjal in October.
The Bt cotton variety Bollgard-I, which is the most widely used variety in India, has been phased out in many countries.
Since this is an edible crop, it is even more important to ensure that there is no contamination of non-GM crops.
Last year, the state was flooded with spurious Bt cotton seeds and the farmers and original manufacturing companies had suffered major losses.
World No. 1 Yamaguchi, however, had to toil hard to get across three-time world champion and Rio gold medallist Carolina Marin of Spain 21-17, 14-21, 21-19 in the day's first match at the IG stadium in New Delhi.
UK-based telecom company BT today completed the sale of its 5.5 per cent stake in Tech Mahindra to partner Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) for Rs 451 crore ($100.2 million). After the sale, BT has 24.4 per cent in Tech Mahindra.
Auto giant Mahindra & Mahindra on Friday said it has agreed to acquire 5.5 per cent of IT firm Tech Mahindra's stake from UK-based British Telecommunications Plc (BT). UKs largest fixed-line phone company BT holds 30 per cent stake in Tech Mahindra.
The types of jobs to be brought back home could require staff to work weekend shifts and up until 11pm at night. The communications workers union has said that it will be unfair for call centre operators to work for the hours, particularly for those with families.
With his ministerial colleagues and experts expressing reservation on moratorium on Bt-brinjal, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has convened a meeting of concerned ministers on the issue this week.
Alarmed at the possible ill effects commercial cultivation of Bt Brinjal could have to their traditional Brinjal crop, villagers at a gram panchayat in Kerala have launched a campaign to showcase their varieties to the world, distributing seedlings to households in the area and highlghting its 'medicinal' effects.
Environment Minsiter Jairam Ramesh will from Wednesday hold a series of public meetings across the country on the controversial Bt brinjal which was cleared by the country's bio-technology regulator last year for its commercial cultivation.
A moratorium 'for now' on Bt brinjal is a healthy breathing space. It could still turn toxic if any one technology is pushed at the cost of a multi-dimensional approach to securing our food future, says Rajni Bakshi.
Bangladesh crushed UAE by 195 runs to win the Under-19 Asia Cup in Dubai on Sunday.
Coal India (CIL) produced 89 million tonnes (MT) in March-24, up 6 per cent year on year (Y-o-Y) and offtake was 69 MT, up 7 per cent Y-o-Y. FY24 production was 774 MT, up 10 per cent Y-o-Y. Offtake was 754 MT, up 9 per cent Y-o-Y. CIL targets production of 838 MT in FY25, up 8 per cent Y-o-Y over FY24.
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