How to handle thorny issues is the crux of talks

The question how India and China can more effectively manage persisting thorny issues such as the border dispute and trans-boundary rivers is expected to emerge as the centre of talks as External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid arrives here on Thursday.

New Delhi: The proposed food security law may attract penal action at the World Trade Organization (WTO) for a possible breach of the subsidy cap allowed under these rules, prompting the government to seek an amendment to the norms.

Although a proposal from the G-33, spearheaded by Indonesia, China, Pakistan, Philippines and India, had already been moved in the run-up to the ministerial meeting in Bali in December, the proposed food security legislation has increased the urgency.

Plea to remove Agriculture Ministry’s nominee from panel

The Coalition for GM-free India has urged the Supreme Court to “remove” the Agriculture Ministry’s nominee from the Technical Expert Committee (TEC) on genetically modified crops on account of alleged ‘conflict of interest’ in the matter of a PIL filed on Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs).
The committee that was set up to advise the court on the technicality of whether the GMOs should be banned or not, has, in its interim report, recommended a 10-year moratorium on field trials of GM crops in the country till such time a proper regulatory system is put in place.

Domestic gas prices may be fixed at $2 lower than the $8.8-per-unit price discovered by the Rangarajan commitee constituted to suggest changes in the production-sharing contract and future domestic gas-pricing mechanism.

Sources said the oil ministry agreed to the basic principle of gas pricing suggested by the panel, but wants it to be modified slighty to also take into account gas prices in countries such as Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Nigeria that account for a major portion of India's liquified natural gas imports.

New Delhi: More newborns die on the first day in India than in any other country, according to the latest ‘State Of The World’s Mothers ’ report. Every year, over 3,09,300 children (29% of the global share) in India don’t live beyond the first day because of complications associated with preterm birth, hygiene and maternal health, the report says.

The report by the United States-based Save the Children, which ranks 176 countries on maternal and child mortality, will release globally on Tuesday.

Toxic waste sites in India with elevated levels of lead and chromium are causing disease, disability and even death, leading to loss of healthy years of life among people, according to a new resear

The Asian Development Bank will maintain its lending rate to India of about $2 billion per annum for the next three years, which will be invested in power, transportation, water and sanitation, the multilateral bank’s president Takehiko Nakao said on Sunday.

Nakao added that the bank had identified some projects where the money may be invested in, but declined to specify in detail. “At this point, it is not a good idea to say what projects we are thinking because it is subject to discussions in the board of directors, but of course we are looking at specific projects. Our investment to India is very broad-based.