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Territories under Maoist influence have shrunk considerably and the incidents of Naxal violence have come down drastically
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The survey would cover an estimated population of 12.70 crores in more than 2.58-crore households across the state
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CEO Campbell Wilson said the airline could have handled the issue better and promised a robust reporting system of unruly behaviour
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Relocation of people from the affected areas should be done expeditiously, chief minister told the officials
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Delhi police on Friday issued summons to six-eight crew members, including the pilot of the Air India flight in the urination incident
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Shah said the BJP-led government at the Centre has invested Rs 3.45 lakh crore in the Northeast in less than eight years
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KARACHI: In a historic development, the Indian government has reportedly revised the sponsorship policy for Pakistani Hindus and now the ashes of 426 cremated Hindus of Pakistan are expected to be immersed in the Ganges River in Haridwar, India, by their family members.
The move will also develop people-to-people (P2P) contact between the two countries. P2P is considered a useful diplomatic tool to ease tension and ensure peace in the region.
Since the partition of the Indian subcontinent back in 1947, Pakistan and India have not been able to enjoy good relations as close neighbors. Rather, they have fought three wars, and border clashes on several occasions during the last seven decades, resulting in the loss of precious lives on both sides (military and civilians) and the waste of public resources to the tune of billions of dollars.
According to a report published in Express Tribune, earlier the Modi government did not allow entry to Pakistani Hindu pilgrims without any sponsorship from India, but now New Delhi has indicated that a 10-day visa would be issued to the family members of a dead Hindu to travel to India to immerse the ashes of their loved ones in the Ganges River.
The ashes are currently kept at the Hindu temples and crematoriums in Karachi.
Entry into India was not allowed without a sponsor and a Pakistani Hindu could bring the ashes of a deceased relative to the river Ganges only if a relative or acquaintance living in India took responsibility.
In Karachi, Soldier Bazaar and Ranchore Line have sizable Hindu communities who have been living here since long before the Partition of the Subcontinent. Some estimates put their numbers between 100,000 and 150,000. Another nearly half a million Hindus live in Kunri, Nagarparkar, and Islamkot, in Tharparkar District, according to the ET report.
Since most Pakistani Hindus have no relatives in India, it was difficult to fulfill the last wish of the deceased person.
Pakistani Hindus will immerse the ashes of their 426 deceased relatives in the Ganges River in the Hindu religious city of Haridwar in India.
The last rites of these deceased Hindus have been performed in Pakistan. Their bones and ashes are kept in ‘Kalash’ (urns) in Hindu temples and crematoriums.
The post Pakistani Hindus to immerse ashes of their deceased relatives in the Ganges River? first appeared on VOSA.
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New York: A Hindu woman living in New York, USA set an example of loyalty and interfaith harmony by performing her Muslim Husband’s funeral rituals as per the Islamic practices, and teachings, on his demise.
Walid Bilal, a native of Karachi, Pakistan, came to America in 1990 some 32 years back in search of a better future and settled here permanently in the US while working as a baker.
Walid Bilal married Kiran, an Indian Hindu citizen, with whom he has two daughters.
In 2000, he suffered from heart disease, after which he fell ill and became disabled in 2013, leaving his family with no other option but government assistance to survive.
Walid Bilal passed away recently due to prolonged illness, his widow contacted the social organization named ‘One Nation’ and told the organization that she wanted her husband to be buried in accordance with his religious practices and Islamic teachings.
One Nation US appealed to the community to arrange for the funeral and burial expenses of late Waleed Iqbal, to which everyone responded and all the arrangements were completed.
One Nation US President Raja Tahir said that it is a blessing and a mercy for us to come to the family during one’s most difficult time.
The funeral prayer of Walid Bilal was offered and he was laid to rest at a local graveyard in New Jersey State. The funeral was attended by volunteers from One Nation US and a large number of community members.
Iqbal has left behind a widow and two daughters to mourn his death.
The post Hindu woman demonstrates loyalty, interfaith harmony by performing Muslim Husband’s funeral according to Islam first appeared on VOSA.
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The Indian Army on 2 January 2023 released a Request for Proposals (RfP) for three-hundred Rough Terrain Vehicles which are to be acquired using fast track emergency procedures. The tender requires an indigenous product based on an existing design which must be fully delivered within twelve months of contract award. The LgsRV (Logistics Rough-Terrain Vehicle) […]
The post Indian Army Seeking Rough Terrain Logistics Vehicles appeared first on Asian Military Review.
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Following the appearance of cracks in the houses, a total of 66 families are reported to have migrated from Joshimath as of now
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6 Mins Read
Climate change will affect hundreds of millions of Indians and bring about widespread food insecurity- government support of alternative proteins is essential to achieving national food security and independence.
By: Ambika Hiranandani of the Good Food Institute India, MPhil., Public Policy, University of Cambridge and Shyam Mehta, Vice President at CREAEGIS India, Consumer, Retail and Consumer Technology Sector
Implementing strategic sustainable food policies today will be the foundation that will help bridge nutritional gaps and feed India in the future. This month, a report from the World Bank jolted the billion-strong nation by forecasting that India will be one of the first countries to face heat waves that break the human survivability limit. According to the report, over 160-200 million people in India will be vulnerable to heat waves by 2030 and 34 million people will lose their jobs because of heat stress associated with productivity decline.
Climate change-induced crippling heat waves irreparably impact agriculture
Climate scientists have long cautioned that heat waves caused by global warming will create obstacles in India’s quest for food security. This March was the hottest on record and shrunk wheat production in key producing states, increased the price of the crop by 20%, and led to an export prohibition. Other crops that will bear the brunt of these heat waves will be soya, barley, and mustard. Faced with weather-related uncertainty and other challenges, India’s farming communities are forced into debt which they can often never return. In the Marathwada district of Maharashtra alone, 600 farmers have committed suicide because of their inability to pay back debt and make their operations profitable. Over 70% of rural Indian households depend on agriculture for their livelihoods. According to the International Food Policy Research Institute, by 2030 73.9 million Indians will be at risk from hunger; if one were to factor in the effects of climate change this figure increases to 90.6 million.
Flaws with the government’s response to food security concerns
To meet food security needs, the government is investing heavily in the livestock sector which is yielding tremendous financial results. Over a six-year period that ended in 2021, the livestock sector registered a compound annual growth rate of 8%. India is currently home to over 35% of the world’s livestock and India is one of the top 5 methane emitting countries. We are aware that 14.5% of the total GHG emissions come from livestock and 44% of these emissions are composed of methane. Over 20 years, methane’s global warming impact is 80 times that of carbon dioxide. India has not signed the Global Methane Pledge. The Global Methane Pledge was signed by over 100 countries at COP 26 who have committed to reducing their methane emissions by 30% by 2030. Professor Partha Dasgupta in his report on the Economics of Biodiversity emphasized the need for us to understand the hidden costs of environmental destruction and for us to quantify this in economic terms. If we were to analyze India’s livestock growth with this lens, it would perhaps tell a very different story.
Alternative proteins: sustainable hero foods
This is where alternative proteins come in as a sustainable hero food to provide nutritious, tasty and inexpensive food to the nation and help strengthen the economy. India’s sherpa to the G20, Mr. Amitabh Kant, in his speech at the Good Food Institute’s Future of Protein Summit referred to this sector as a “sunrise sector” which is filled with potential to help mitigate problems ranging from malnutrition to climate change. By 2030, according to Bloomberg Intelligence, the plant-based food market is expected to be worth USD 162 billion and account for 7.7% of the global protein market. In a high growth scenario India’s local market will be worth approximately USD 713 million and, in a low growth scenario, will be USG 217 million. So far there are start-ups that have brought plant-based mince, kebabs, and patties. These companies have created high-end products which are gaining popularity in an urban environment; however, the rural consumer has not been catered to. The potential for plant-based meats to meet the nutritional needs of those at the margins remains largely unexplored. The global CM economy is expected to be worth USD 450 billion by 2040. There are a couple of CM start-ups in India, Clear Meat has developed and tasted its first cultivated chicken mince product in early 2020 and is planning to launch its first market-ready product by 2023. Sutapa Sikdar of Clear Meat explains that as there is no specific regulatory framework for cultivated meat in India, they have not been able to apply for regulatory approval. However, they are in touch with the Food Safety Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) and are hopeful that structures will be put into place. MyoWorks, an early-stage start-up, is looking to manufacture a range of ingredients and scaffolds for the cultivated-meat industry globally. MyoWorks has received USD 50,000 from the Department of Biotechnology to demonstrate preliminary proof of concept.
India has the foundation needed to develop alternative proteins; its agricultural biodiversity lends itself to developing plant-based meats from a diverse range of crops. It produces 25% of the world’s pulses and is of the world’s largest producers and exporters of millet. Startups are working with indigenous farming communities to grow Pongamia seeds which are a rich protein source and creating livelihoods for otherwise disenfranchised people. Its biopharma sector has the potential to pioneer innovation in cultivated meat.
The Food Safety Standards (Approval of Non-Specified Foods and Food Ingredients) Regulation, 2017 details the procedure for the pre-market authorization of ‘novel’ foods. Novel foods, according to the regulations, are new additives; processing aids; food ingredients consisting of or isolated from bacteria, yeast, fungus, or algae. However, the definition of ‘novel’ food stops short of making a direct reference to ‘animal cell culture’. Regarding plant-based products, the usage of the terms ‘milk’, ‘butter’ and ‘cheese’ for plant-based products was prohibited by the FSSAI through an executive order dated 15th July 2021. The reasoning behind this order was that the ‘General Standard for Milk and Milk Products’ under the Food Safety and Standards (Food Products and Food Additives) Regulations, 2011 did not permit the usage of a dairy term for a plant-based product. The order also directed that action be taken against companies flouting this rule and that e-commerce sites delist plant-based products using such terms. However, coconut milk and peanut butter were spared from the application of this order due to the international usage of these terms. This was challenged in the Delhi High Court by plant-based product manufacturing companies. As the issue currently stands, the court has temporarily permitted plant-based product manufacturers to use dairy terms pending their final decision on the issue.
The critical importance of government support
The government sets the public policy agenda which determines where research funding goes, details enterprises that will receive fiscal benefits and that those at the margins benefit from novel innovation. So far, India has not set the public policy agenda in favour of the growth of alternative protein companies. Food security is a major theme of India’s G20 presidency and India advocated for 2023 to be declared as the International Year of Millets by the United Nations. The building blocks for an alternative protein-positive policy are there and can be built on with tangible targets which also ties into India’s net zero commitment.
Policy options to mainstream these hero foods
Policy options such as creating a favourable regulatory framework, providing economic incentives to companies that leverage plant-based proteins to meet the rural needs of those at the margins, and creating structures within the government that focus exclusively on the development of alternative proteins need to be explored. The Swachh Bharat Mission focused on sanitation was the world’s largest nudge campaign and changed the habits of millions of Indians. Similar nudges can be employed to change India’s eating habits to nutritionally rich sustainable food.
Alternative proteins have the potential to ameliorate previously unsolvable wicked problems ranging from food insecurity to GHG emissions from food to malnutrition. Innovation can only go so far with limited government support to achieve its potential. India can get ahead of the curve by changing its local landscape and becoming a global player; however, the time to act is now.
Lead photo courtesy of Good Dot India.
The post Op-Ed: Public Policy Is Key to Mainstreaming Sustainable Proteins in India appeared first on Green Queen.
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Air India lodged a police complaint regarding the incident that took place on Nov 26 when the flight was on its way from New York to Delhi
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Scores of people carrying the Tricolor joined the yatra as it made its way through
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Meeting will see the party leadership taking stock of election preparedness of its state units where Assembly polls are scheduled this year
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Bengal Sapper officer inducted to Siachen post on January 2
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PM said that development in science should be aimed at fulfilling India’s needs and this should be inspiration for the scientific community
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As the Yatra moved forward in Delhi, a huge police force was deployed to ensure there is no untoward incident
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Fundamental right under Article 19(1)(a) can be exercised even against other instrumentalities other than the state, the court said
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New Delhi: In a historic development from a global economic perspective, India – a South Asian nuclear nation with a 1.39 billion population overtook the United Kingdom (UK) to become the world’s 5th largest economy in 2022.
According to International Monetary Fund (IMF) report quoted by visualcapitalist.com, with a total $ 25 trillion Gross Domestic Production (GDP) share, the United States is leading the world net $101.6 trillion dollar economy, followed by its rival yet fast-emerging Peoples Republic of China with $18.3 trillion GDP size.
Japan ranked 3rd with $ 4.3 trillion GDP, Germany $4.0 trillion, and India with $ 3.5 trillion gross domestic production replaced the UK to become the 5th largest economy in the world, and the first south Asian nation to cross $3 trillion economy during the period under review.
The majority of global economic activity comes from just a handful of countries with the US, China, Japan, Germany, and India making up the top 5, which together account for more than half of global GDP.
Just five countries make up more than half of the world’s entire GDP in 2022: the U.S., China, Japan, India, and Germany. Interestingly, These top five economies which together account for more than half of global GDP reported by visualcapitalist.com.
Adding on another five countries (the top 10) makes up 66% of the global economy, and the top 25 countries comprise 84% of global $101.6 trillion GDP.
The rest of the world — the remaining 167 nations — make up 16% of global GDP. Many of the smallest economies are islands located in Oceania.
The Economics Times report says the Indian economy recovered from the COVID-induced downturn during 2022 and is poised for further improvement in the coming quarters though downside risks emanating from geopolitical tensions, strengthening dollar and elevated inflation will continue.
The positive trajectory in the growth trend and improved fundamentals will help the nation in neutralizing the impact of global headwinds which are expected to have a bearing on the country’s exports in the months to come.
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is a broad indicator of the economic activity within a country. It measures the total value of economic output—goods and services—produced within a given time frame by both the private and public sectors.
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In a fair world, Aruna Rodrigues would be heralded as an incredible individual for her ongoing struggle to protect the socio-economic and environmental integrity of India. So says respected environmentalist, author and campaigner Leo Saldanha.
He adds:
Since 2005, she has tirelessly pursued a public interest litigation before the Supreme Court of India, in which she has made a case why India should not yield to pressures from mega agri-transnational corporations and certain sections of the Indian agricultural sector who are keen on promoting genetically modified organisms in farming.
India’s apex regulatory body, the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee, recently sanctioned genetically modified (GM) mustard for cultivation. This would be India’s first GM food crop, despite a public interest litigation (PIL) before the Supreme Court to prevent cultivation as well as the widespread rejection of GM mustard by farmers’ organisations.
Aruna Rodrigues, the lead petitioner of the PIL, has exposed in her various submissions to court that claims about yield increases through GM mustard to be completely baseless. She indicates how data has been rigged and manipulated and protocols have been severely compromised, and that the government and its regulators are parroting the false claims of the crop developers.
Thanks to the PIL, the Supreme Court put a stay on the commercial release of GM Mustard on 3 November 2022.
Independent experts who have looked at the biosafety data submitted by the crop developer at Delhi University have clearly pointed out that GM mustard has not been tested rigorously and adequately.
India is a centre for diversity for mustard and several high-level official committees have recommended against transgenic technologies in crops for which the country is the centre of origin or centre of diversity.
Various high-level reports have also advised against introducing GM food crops to India per se. These reports conclude that GM crops are unsuitable for India and that biosafety and regulatory procedures are wholly inadequate.
Rodrigues also played a leading role in preventing commercial cultivation of GM brinjal more than a decade ago. Her tireless efforts have been a thorn in the side of global agritech corporations and seriously compromised regulatory officials who have for the best part of two decades been trying to get GM food crops cultivated in India.
There is much at stake.
India has a lot to lose, not least its food and seed sovereignty and contamination of its crops as well as the risks genetically modified organisms (GMOs) pose to human health.
The industry has much to gain.
Global biotech corporations like Bayer and Corteva are seeking to increase their control over the future of food and farming by extensively patenting plants and developing a new generation of GMOs.
They seek to claim all plants with those genetic traits as their ‘invention’. Such patents on plants would restrict farmers’ access to seeds and impede breeders from developing new plants as both would have to ask for consent and pay fees to the biotech companies.
According to an October 2022 report, the global GM crop and seed market is projected to reach $46 billion by 2027. That is up from an estimated US$30.6 billion in 2020. The US market is estimated at $8.4 billion, while China is forecast to reach a projected market size of US$10 billion by the year 2027.
Key global players include AgReliant Genetics LLC, BASF SE, Bayer Crop Science, Canterra Seeds Holdings, DLF Seeds & Science and Corteva (Dow/DuPont).
If India succumbs to pressure, that figure of $46 billion by 2027 could be much larger. With 1.4 billion people, India represents a massive financially lucrative cash cow.
For instance, Goldstein Research pushes pro-GM industry talking points and laments about resistance to GM food seeds as it is hindering the growth of India’s GM seed market. Even so, it forecasts that the Indian GM seed market is set to reach US$13.1 billion by 2025 (cotton is the only legally sanctioned GM crop in India at this time).
GM mustard is regarded as a pioneering food crop in India – it would open the floodgates for many other GM food crops that are in the pipeline under a veil of secrecy, including wheat, rice, brinjal and chickpea.But – it seems – genuine science stands in the way. GM mustard is unwanted, unneeded and fails to stand up to scientific rigour.
Maybe that is why, in December 2020, the Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR) prevented serving and former public officials from expressing any opinion or writing any article on the approval to release GM mustard. This is a ‘gag order’ and an attempt to close down debate on the matter and to keep the public in the dark on the issue.
Trade and agriculture policy specialist Devinder Sharma says that silencing scientific voices indicates there is more to hide than reveal. He says that every claim that the ICAR makes about GM mustard can be challenged. And it has been – in court. Sharma adds that the US is placing tremendous pressure on India to embrace GM crops.
In finishing, let us turn to where this article began – with Aruna Rodrigues.
Leo Saldanha, who is mentioned at the start of this article, is forthright on the Change.org website in condemning a recent attack on Rodrigues.
Due to Rodrigues, Saldanha says the Supreme Court has time and again questioned the enthusiasm with which the Indian government and several public institutions have collaborated, questionably and controversially, in promoting GM foods and crops.
Just before Christmas, however, Aruna Rodrigues was unexpectedly forcibly evicted from her ancestral home by the Indian army. The Defence Estate Office is the custodian of all military properties of India and is required to secure such properties by following the due process of law.
Saldanha notes that Rodrigues’ home has been with her family from 1892 – legally secured via proper sale deeds. But about 27 years ago, the Defence Estate Office made a claim on the house. This claim was challenged, and the matter has been in court since then. Consequently, any action against the occupant should be only through due process of law.
On 20 December 2022, a court ruled that Aruna Rodrigues has occupation rights to the house. Yet the Defence Estate Officer moved into the house with army personnel – without any court directive – and physically removed her and threw the contents of the house onto the street. Within hours, a court ruled in Rodrigues favour. By then, however, the damage had been done.
As Saldanha says, we can only wonder whether any of this is connected to Rodrigues’ case before the Supreme Court. Given the billions of dollars at stake for the global agritech companies, it would indeed be wise to wonder.
The post India’s GM Mustard: An Increasingly Bitter Taste first appeared on Dissident Voice.This post was originally published on Dissident Voice.
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Observing that there was no independent application of mind by the RBI, Justice said the entire exercise was carried out in 24 hours
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On Sunday evening, suspected terrorists opened fire on three houses in the area in Rajouri district killing four civilians and injuring six
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A five-judge Constitution bench headed by Justice S A Nazeer pronounced its verdict on the matter
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A five-judge Constitution bench headed by Justice S A Nazeer, who will retire on January 4, is likely to pronounce its verdict on the matter
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The two nuclear-armed neighbours exchange the list of nuclear installations every year on January 1
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With murders, contract killings, ambushes, war zone deaths and fatal injuries, a staggering total of 1668 journalists have been killed worldwide in connection with their work in the last two decades (2003-2022), according to the tallies by the Paris-based global media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) based on its annual round-ups.
This gives an average of more than 80 journalists killed every year. The total killed since 2000 is 1787.
RSF secretary-general Christophe Deloire said:
“Behind the figures, there are the faces, personalities, talent and commitment of those who have paid with their lives for their information gathering, their search for the truth and their passion for journalism.
In each of its annual round-ups, RSF has continued to document the unjustifiable violence that has specifically targeted media workers.
This year’s end is an appropriate time to pay tribute to them and to appeal for full respect for the safety of journalists wherever they work and bear witness to the world’s realities.
Darkest years
The annual death tolls peaked in 2012 and 2013 with 144 and 142 journalists killed, respectively. These peaks, due in large measure to the war in Syria, were followed by a gradual fall and then historically low figures from 2019 onwards.Sadly, the number of journalists killed in connection with their work in 2022 — 58 according to RSF’s Press Freedom Barometer on December 28 — was the highest in the past four years and was 13.7 percent higher than in 2021, when 51 journalists were killed.
15 most dangerous countries
During the past two decades, 80 percent of the media fatalities have occurred in 15 countries. The two countries with the highest death tolls are Iraq and Syria, with a combined total of 578 journalists killed in the past 20 years, or more than a third of the worldwide total.They are followed by Afghanistan, Yemen and Palestine. Africa has not been spared, with Somalia coming next.
With 47.4 percent of the journalists killed in 2022, America is nowadays clearly the world’s most dangerous continent for the media, which justifies the implementation of specific protection policies.
Four countries – Mexico, Brazil, Colombia and Honduras – are among the world’s 15 most dangerous countries.
Asia also has many countries on this tragic list, including the Philippines, with more than 100 journalists killed since the start of 2003, Pakistan with 93, and India with 58.
Women journalists also victims
Finally, while many more male journalists (more than 95 percent) have been killed in war zones or in other circumstances than their female counterparts, the latter have not been spared.A total of 81 women journalists have been killed in the past 20 years — 4.86 percent of the total media fatalities.
Since 2012, 52 have been killed, in many cases after investigating women’s rights. Some years have seen spikes in the number of women journalists killed, and some of the spikes have been particularly alarming.
In 2017, ten women journalists were killed (as against 64 male journalists) — a record 13.5 percent of that year’s total media fatalities.
Pacific Media Watch collaborates with Reporters Without Borders.
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The minister, however, has dismissed the charge as baseless and has called for an independent probe
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The Home Minister exuded confidence that ‘he is not worried about the India-China (border aggression) issue’
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Gandhi said the Bharat Jodo Yatra provided a framework to present a new way of working and thinking to the people
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed grief over the accident and announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh to the next of kin of each deceased
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