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PresidentofIndiareceivedfirstcopyofbook‘FutureofIndianUniversities:ComparativeandInternationalPerspectives’

HereceivedthefirstcopyofthisbookfromNobel Laureate Professor Amartya Sen

Thebook‘FutureofIndianUniversities:ComparativeandInternationalPerspectives’istheacademicandresearchworkofscholars,educationistsandpractitionersfromIndiaandabroad.Itaimstoprovideinternationalandcomparativeperspectivesonhighereducationandhighlightsissuesbeing

facedbyIndianUniversities.IthasbeencompliedbyProfessor (Dr.) C. Raj Kumar, Vice Chancellor of JGU University andispublishedbyOxford

UniversityPress.

Government holds All Party Meet ahead of Monsoon Session of Parliament

Sessionwillprovideatotalof 19sittingsspreadoveraperiodof26daysincludingfourPrivateMembers’days:ShriAnanth kumar

Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers and parliamentary affairs

NarendraModisaidthatforpreservingtheinstitutionofDemocracyinIndia,itisimportantthatallPoliticalPartiessupporttheGovernmenttoconductbusinessinboththeHousesoftheParliamentwithout

disruption andconstructivediscussiontakesplaceonissuesofnationalimportance

ShriModiinformedalltheleadersthatdue to preponing Budget byamonth,therewouldbeabalanced nature of capital

expenditure profile in this financial year.

AccordingtotheestimatesfromControllerGeneralofAccounts,theexpenditureinApril-Junethisyearhasbeen30%

morethanthesametimepreviousyear.

CapitalExpenditureinInfrastructurerelatedprojectshasgoneupby48%overthepreviousyear.

ThePrimeMinisteralsourgedallleaderstoachieveconsensusoncelebrating75th anniversary of Quit India Movement on

9th August inbothHousesofParliament.

PrimeMinisterurgedallpartiestoextendtheirsupporttotheGovernmentin fighting corruption andtheissueofcommunal

violenceinthenameofCow protection.

theSessionwillprovideatotalof 19 sittings spreadoveraperiod of 26 days includingfour Private Members’ days.

Further,21BillsarependinginLok Sabhawhile42BillsarependinginRajya Sabha

Visit of Chief of the Air Staff to France

AirChiefMarshalBirender Singh Dhanoa ChiefoftheAirStaffisonanofficialvisittoFrancefrom 17-20Jul17.

Thevisitisintendedtofurtherstrengthentheexisting defence cooperation betweentheAirForcesofthetwocountries.

The areasofcooperationpresentlyincludeexchangesinmilitarytraining courses,mutualvisitsbysubjectmatterexpertsandjointair

exercises.

Rafale (36)

Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Shri RadhaMohan Singh addressed a gathering on 89th Foundation

Day of ICARIndianCouncilofAgriculturalResearch(ICAR)

Since1951foodgrain productioninthecountryhasincreasedfivetimes,fishproduction14.3,milkproduction9.6andeggproduction

47.5 times

IntheHorticultureSector,therehasbeenathreefoldincreaseinfruitsandvegetableproductionascomparedto1991-92

122awardswerepresentedforexcellencein19variouscategories.Itincludes3institutes;2AICRPs;(AllIndia

CoordinatedResearchProjects) 12Krishi VigyanKendras;19farmersand80scientists,including30

women

Krsihi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) areagriculturalextensioncentres created by ICAR (IndianCouncilforAgriculturalResearch)anditsaffiliatedinstitutionsatdistrictlevelto

providevarioustypesoffarmsupporttotheagriculturalsector.

The first KVK wasestablishedduring1974 (Pondichery) andhasgrownasalargestnetworkinthecountry.

KVKs provideseveralfarmsupportactivitieslikeprovidingtechnologydisseminationtofarmers,training,awarenessetc.ToachievethesetobjectivesKVKsundertake

followingtypesofactivitiesintheadoptedvillages:(1) Farm Advisory Service

(2) Training programme fordifferentcategoriesofpeople.(3) Training programme fortheextensionfunctionaries.

(4) Front Line Demonstration (Fill)(5) On Farm Testing (OFT)

Shri Radha Mohan Singh said that the contribution of agriculture and allied sectors to Gross Value Added is 18%

Severalmeasureshavebeenproposedforthefarmers’welfareandimprovementinagriculturesuchasbringing2.85millionhectaresunderirrigatedareaby2012-2018;providingassistanceofRs.2,87,000crore(42.1billionUSdollars)tothe

villagepanchayatsandmunicipalitiesandtoprovideelectricitytoallthevillages.

He informed that steps have already been taken to solve the two important problems (Soil and Water) by the Government to

improve agricultural production. Soil Health Card Scheme and Organic Farming Scheme ‘Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana’ have

been initiated to improve soil fertility on a sustainable basis

Geneticengineeringforcesthenewgenetoworkinthenewenvironment.Tomakeitwork,it’snotjustasinglegenethatgetsintroducedintothehostorganismbut,tomakethatgenefunctionandexpressitselfinthe

newenvironment,othergenesaretaggedalongwithit- a promoter gene, a terminator gene, a marker gene - tocreatenewgeneticconstructstobe

transformedintoneworganisms.

Essay

GM Mustard controversy

What are genetically modified foods ?

Question

The Nagoya Protocol is an international agreement which aims to ensure the safe handling, transport and use of living modified organisms (LMOs)

resulting from modern biotechnology that may have adverse effects on biological diversity, taking also into account risks to human health.

The Helsinki declaration is is an international agreement which aims at sharing the benefits arising from the utilization of genetic resources in a

fair and equitable way.

Full Analysis“Makka ki roti aur sarson ka sag”

Mustard - popular food item in northern India, in particular, Punjab, Haryana and Western Uttar Pradesh where both maize and mustard are

widely grown.

All vegetarian dishes made in much of northern, eastern and western India are cooked in mustard (sarson) oil.

Controversial Dhara GM mustard hybrid-11 or DMH-11

Developed by scientists of Delhi University, with former Vice Chancellor Deepak Pental in the lead.

DMH-11,the“herbicidetolerant”mustard,receivedthegreensignalfromtheGEAC (Genetic Engineering Appraisal

Committee)

The WHO has labelled glyphosate as a carcinogen and there is incontrovertible field evidence from Argentina, which cultivates a lot of GM soybean,

commercially known as “Round Up Ready” soybean. The herbicide Round Up led to multitudes of grave birth defects in children.

When a sarson farmer grows DMH-11, he is advised to spray the herbicide Bastawhich kills weeds and plants, except the GM mustard. The herbicide is

manufactured by Bayer, the German agro-chemical company which recently acquired Monsanto.

Basta’s chemical constituent is glufosinate—a neurotoxin on the same platform as glyphosate.

Weeding isdonebywomen farm labourers in mustard fields.Thinkofthelossoflivelihoodofthesepoorwomen.

Aconservativeestimateshowsthateven 25 per cent adoption of GM mustard inIndiawouldleadtothelossofa crore

employment days forwomen.

GM brinjal, peddled by Mahyco (Maharashtra Hybrid Seed Company), an arm of Monsanto, during UPA-II.

Late Chief Justice of India Y K Sabharwal, responding to a PIL, noted that the entire question of GM crops must be examined by an

independent expert committee. A committee was formulated by the Centre for Sustainable Agriculture,

HyderabadThe committee found several lapses, in field data and laboratory

biosafety evaluation, and submitted its report to the Supreme Court in October 2006.

Indefinite moratorium on Bt brinjal on February 10, 2010, which stands to date.

1. Environmental safetyThecaseofBt cotton clearlyillustratestheissueoflongtermsafetyofGMtechnology.

India adopted Bt cotton in 2002 onthegroundsthattheplanthadnewgeneswhichwouldmakeitpoisonoustoaparticularsetofpestscalledbollworms,therebyrelievingfarmersof

thedependenceoncommercialchemicalpesticides.

Wehaveevidence15yearshencethattheveryclaimonwhichitwasbroughthasdisintegrated

The pests that Bt Cotton was meant to kill have developed pesticide resistance; thereisevidencethatmorechemicalpesticidesareusedonBt cottontodaythanin2002.Further,

2.5 times more chemical fertilisers are being used despiteapanoplyofgovernmentprogrammes toimprovesoilhealthandfarmerwelfaresuch,astheSoilHealthMission.Increased chemical inputs are directly linked to higher GhG emissions, accelerated climate

change, and reduced soil fertility.

GM mustard isapotentialthreattoIndianfarming,likeinBt cotton,whichhasbeenprovedunsustainableinrecentyearsduetowidespreadwhite

fly attack devastatingentirecottonfieldsinPunjab and Western Uttar Pradesh

2. The question of farmer livelihoods and sovereignty

SincetheintroductionofBt cotton,wehavecededcontrol of 95 percent of our cotton seeds to Monsanto.

Thecorporationdecideswhetherfarmerswillgetcottonseedontimetosowornot,itdetermineswhatseedbrandswillenterthemarket,andatwhatpriceandinwhatquantitiestheywillbesoldtofarmers.UsingitsmonopolyoverIndia’scottoncrop,Monsanto controlswhethercottoncanbegrownin

Indiaornot.InIndia,farmer suicides continue to be higher amongcottongrowersthan

amonganyothercategoryoffarmers.ManyfarmersuicidesinPunjab arebeingdirectlyconnectedtofailure of the

cotton crop afterpestproblemsemergedinBt cotton.

Theherbicide-tolerantvarietyofGMmustardthreatensthelivelihoodsofIndia’sinvisibletoilers- scoresofpoor,ruralwomen,78 percent of

whom rely on manual weeding of fields to earn a livelihood.

InthefaceofGMmustard,thesewomenstandtolosetheironlysourceofincome,andintheabsenceofalternativesbythe

government, it is the poorest women of the country who stand to lose a fight not of their making.

Although palm oil and palm olein are produced from the same plant and share many similar properties, the main difference between them is their chemical state at room temperature.

Semi-solid palm oil is used more frequently as a fat in bakery products, whereas liquid palm olein is considered the "gold

standard" and is the most widely used oil for frying in the world.

ताड़ का तेल

Farmersaretoldthatthenewhybridwillincreasetheiryieldby25-30percent,andthatifthoseyieldsgoup,Indiawon’tneedtoimport

edibleoilandbleedforeignexchange.ItistruethatinIndiawe import Rs. 70,000 crores worthofedibleoil.

But 60 percent of that is unhealthy palmolein oil,ourinsatiableappetiteforwhichdestroystropical forests in Malaysia and Indonesia.Thedemandforpalmoilisdrivenbythepackagedandprocessedfoodindustrywhichisgaininglargermarketshareinthecountry.HealthactivistsarguethatIndiahasalreadyexceededitspercapitalevelsof

healthyoilintakeandthatweshouldn'tbeaskingformore.

TheissueofthecapacityofincreasedyieldsinGMmustardhybridsitselfstandsquestioned.Indiaalreadyhasnon-GM hybrids thatdon’trelyontheBarBarstar

Barnase technologyoftheGMvariant.AnothertechnologycalledCytoplasmic Male Sterility (CMS) whichisfarsaferisalsoknowntogeneticists.Bybeingcontainedintheplant’scytoplasmratherthanitsDNA, CMS technology doesn’thavegenetic

implicationsofbeinginheritedandcontaminatingothercrops.

CMShybridsarealreadyavailableinthemarket,butdespitebeingbetterperformingthanGMhybrids,theyhavenotreducedIndia’simports.

Asecondmethod- SystemofMustard Intensification,promotedbytheMadhya Pradesh Agriculture Department,hasyieldedtwiceasmuchasGMhybrids.

Inthismethod,insteadoftweakingthegeneticmakeupofseeds,improvementstoyieldarebroughtaboutbyaltered agricultural practices such as changing the distance

between plants andreducingthequantitiesofinputslikewater.Thereisalsoevidencefromaroundtheworldthatcountries with the best rapeseed mustard yields

are those using non-GM hybrids, including China.

technology irreversible and uncontrollable

InthecaseofGenetic Engineering,whengenesaremovedaroundintheplantkingdominaforced,randomfashiontoproduceseeds,thepollen

fromthenewplantsbeginsspreadingintheenvironment.

Itcanleavethesenewgenesinrelatedandwild species andcontaminatecropsinneighboring farms.Thismakesthisasyet

unproventechnologyirreversible and uncontrollable.

Today, 95 percent of the world's GM crops are grown in only 5 countries.MostcountrieshaverejectedorbannedGMtechnology.Yetwhyareweinsucha

hurrytoadoptGMtechnology?

By1996-97,theUS had already approved for commercial cultivation about a dozen GM crops patentedbydifferentcorporations.In1998,astudyby

Hungarianbiochemist Árpád Pusztai warningofthepossiblehealthimpactsofGMcropscausedEuropetobanimportsofallGMcropsandseveralother

countriesquicklyfollowedsuit.

ThiswasablowtotheUS,whoseagriculturaleconomyisheldafloatbyglobalexportmarketsfor3or4ofitsmajorcrops.Sincethen,ithasbeen

aggressivelypushingGMtechnologyindevelopingcountriesofAfrica,India,Bangladesh,andPhilippines,manyofwhichhavelittlechoiceinthematterbecausetheyrelyonmultilateralaidfromtheverygovernmentssellingthem

GMtechnology

TheCentreinformedtheSupreme Court on17th July thatsofarithasnottakenanypolicydecisiononthecommercialreleaseof

Genetically Modified (GM) mustard crop.

AbenchcomprisingChiefJusticeJ.S.Khehar andJusticeD.Y.Chandrachud considered the statement of Additional Solicitor-

General Tushar Mehta,representingtheCentre,thatthegovernmentisconsideringvariousaspectsofthematterandhasinvitedsuggestionsandobjectionsonthecommercial roll-

out of GM crops.