Ban on bio-safety trials is not a good policy

There is lack of bio-safety studies on effects of genetically modified seeds and organisms. So government has said that for ten years no trials should be done in the field of biotechnology in India. There should be research and even if acceptable gene is found then we should introduce it. A ten year ban is going to stop all benefits which we would get from "good genes" which can be made in crops and in other living things. Right now there is no "patent" policy on biological organisms or plant genes.Just by closing our eyes to development in biotechnology is not going to make it disappear.Genetically engineered seeds or animals can enter India without our knowledge and we have no research on them to tackle that situation. We have no regulatory framework for dealing with biotechnology related projects, services and marketing of the products.Pre-cautionary outlook and issuing a ban will not help us understand the gaps and uncertainties in dealing with bio-technically engineered product.We need not think of bio engineering as a threat to our biodiversity. It may/may not help us preserve our biodiversity. The cheetah, pink headed duck or the Himalayan mountain quail can be brought back.For instance the gene of the Indian tiger can be replicated and its extinction can be prevented. We may be able to replicate the "oldest" species of the original rice crops of India which otherwise would be lost for ever. We may be able to make a crop which is resistant to pesticide and chemicals.We can make a plant which will convert chemicals in contaminated lands into biomass which would be beneficial soil. Possibilities are endless. We cannot ban it before we find the real relevance. Australian scientist have made a new genetically modified banana(with extra vitamins and iron) which they want to share with Indian scientists. Can they legally?There are different aspects in several fields. The technical, economic legal, ethical and social implications of the ban on all bio tech research has to be discussed again.Ostrich like attitude by banning all trials is not good for our future.

The pulse of the nation?

As if to stop the present government to stop from making economic reforms and get a good name, much commotion is caused by opposition in Parliament. This has been the trend in the past sessions also. Stalling reforms is bad for the economy. We need confidence of Indian and foreign investors to carry on investing in India. And this trend dilutes their faith. Already reforms have set in motion several infrastructural projects (about 27 billion dollars worth)Indian economy is driven by hardworking nature of its people in all spheres,  So they will carry on; no matter how long the government takes to make policies or abstains from implementing them.Things keep moving.
In aviation sector, investors have started coming in. Especially from the mid-east. The fuel is not subsidised any more, so it has reduced the strain on the government; it was deregulated. This has greatly reducing fiscal deficit.Foreign investment for insurance sector from 26% to 49% will bring in more wealth; only if the insurance bill is passed.There is stand off between the power sector and the coal sector. Power sector wants more coal for producing more and more electricity; and the coal sector needs reforms to send more and more coal.We have plenty of coal, mining this would require many firms. The rights to mine must be given by government judiciously, it is here we have bottlenecks. We will resolve these soon.People are benefiting from welfare schemes and are able to withstand the pressures of inflation.And this is a big achievement.

What would India look like?

When industrialisation and modernisation transform India, there will be the affluent India and a "slum" India which would be fenced off. Affluent India will come about as the"rich" class of industrialists would make town ships for themselves; they would have their own hospitals and schools. The "poor" India would be the labourers' and workers' communities which would cater to the needs of the "rich" class. These people would have least facilities in terms of schools and medical centres. Crime rates would be high here. Whenever there is a crime, a few persons in the poor area would be arrested beaten up and made to confess even if they were not involved in crime.
Actually, this scene seems more and more like the present. Law has a different meaning for rich and the poor.If our natural resources are sold to the rich after being confiscated from the poor farmers, we are creating a "rich" society and a "poor" society.
When agricultural results are good, we can distribute to all persons. But when there is drought or famine, the rich would isolate themselves. They would import food or grow food in green houses. The poor would get few rations handed out by public welfare schemes.We must make sure that droughts do not occur; we must make sure that waters in our rivers do not dry up. Why should foreign powers build dams to stop river waters from entering our land? We must protect our land and its people.
It is a sad scene which will come true, if we fail to make our government effective and responsible.And the voice of the poor should be heard. His needs should be attended to. The poor labourers would be battling against the corporates. The government would support the corporates and all labour laws would be meaningless. The supply chain corporates would unscrupulously exploit the weak worker. How to make an ethical supply chain?

These are questions we must think about now to avoid a terrible future.

Consensus on making of the land bill

We had an ancient bill through which land was acquired by the state for making infrastructures for public good, and it was called Land Acquisition of 1894. It was outdated and a new one was made. Latest one is called Land Acquisition Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill 2012. This would give new deal to the Indian farmers whose lands would be acquired by government and given to private companies which would develop it.The compensation given to the farmers would be double of the market rate. The reality is that the actual value of the land would be 500 times more the "white"market rate. Once the farmer sells it, he would never be able to buy land ever (land would be out of his reach) For the sake of industrialisation and modernisation, the government is going to acquire land. Even if the different political parties arrive at consensus, they would not be "fair" to the farmer. Farmer protests are subdued. In the state of Odissa, land for steel plant (of a Korean company) was acquired and the plant was made. People protested for months together. Now they can protest no more. A mere compensation of 20 lakhs would be paid to them and land would be taken against their wishes. The steel plant would make 20 million tonne of steel annually. And the farmers whose land it was built on will get no part of the profits. The farmers should be the"owners" of the plants., but with land snatched from them they are reduced to labourers. Is this the support they should receive from the government they had elected?The government has not made an in depth study of the situation. Even if it is aware of the situation, it does not care for the helpless farmer.It cares for industrialisation more than ever. People's rights are not recognised here, how will farmers survive? What future do they have?The land and its people are suffering.Our culture and people might disappear in the future.

Earth Day--its meanings for us

The ecology of Indian subcontinent has constantly been changed by human habitations. The native species have been replaced by crops and fruit trees in rural areas. Landscapes have been transformed by cultivation--for instance hills have been changed into terrace cultivation farms, valleys and slopes have been used for tea cultivation and so on. Canals have been cut to irrigate fields and courses of rivers have been changed. But most drastic changed have been initiated by building of dams and water reservoirs which reduce the flow of the rivers.Ground water has been depleted and we may have major water crisis soon.Border countries which are aggressive have built dams in their lands which would stop river flow to India.
In urban areas forest department has proven to be a dysfunctional organisation. Native species of trees have been constantly disappearing. In cities like New Delhi, efforts are taken to maintain some greenery, but rules are never followed. The rule that 6 feet of land should be left around a tree is never followed by government or by private organisations. Delhi Preservation of Tree Act 1994, Section 24(1) says that no nails will be hammered into trees; but trees are used as advertising poles with road signs on them. Anyone cuts down trees as nobody is punished for cutting down trees. Along with trees disappear the native species of birds squirrels bats butterflies and other native woodland creatures(monkeys, deer, bears etc) For the making of housing projects trees are cut down. Entire urban population prospers by exploiting resources from rural India.For urban India the rural population produces food for consumption, wood for furniture and labour from its population. This cannot go on for ever. There are limits to its resources. Ecological crisis is looming(water scarcity) overhead.By upsetting the ecological diversity(trees and animals) we have sown the seeds to our own end.Wild animals have been replaced by dogs, monkeys,cats and rats(these spread diseases). Only strong birds like the crow, parrot and pigeon survive while sharing habitats with humans.The myna, the Indian cuckoo(koel) mourning dove, the bee eater, humming bird,  the wagtails and innumerable others have disappeared; only the hen is still abundant.Soon we will have no trees for making furniture as we never planted saplings while cutting down one.... Without these birds and trees, life would not be beautiful. This is because we had failed to listen to forest department which is promoting growing of trees, we had only raised multi storey flats.

Criminals in city

Commonly, helpless women and children are brutalised by criminals in urban India. Police do not care and refuse to register cases when victims approach them. This is intolerable. Protests are going on in the capital against the government which is doing nothing to improve the police systems. Ineffective socialisation and alienation of individuals have made many into psychologically ill rapists. The law can control this but the police infrastructure is an inefficient system. The media can take a pro-active role, but it just reports. Neighbourhood watch can help but nobody bothers to get involved. May be political élite is adding fuel to the flame. People are frustrated and protesting on social issues gives them an outlet to their feelings. The truth is that the government is not working honestly to prevent such crimes. Police does not care for the people; for it cares to please the politicians and takes orders from them. Criminals do not fear law, as they care least for well being of women or children. Women and girl child become victims of criminals as they are weak and cannot defend themselves. Decadent culture has come about ---no institutions which shape our value system work here. It is animal society. How to make it into a human society? It is puzzling how a traditional society like ours has become hostile to the women and the girl children.What would be the future be like without womenfolks?

Preserving our lands

Indiscriminate development of industries in India could turn Indian subcontinent into a polluted land. So"no go" areas were established and conserved as ecological sensitive zones. They were not opened for activities like mining, factories, housing sites, thermal power plants etc. One such zone is a strip of land 60,000 km in the "Western Ghats" of peninsular India.When this was proposed by the "Gadgil Committee" it had to face stiff opposition as three fourths of the land was closed for development as this land included plantations and habitations. So the Ecological Sensitive Area under Environmental Protection Act of 1976 was to be altered by the "Kasthurirangan Committee" This new committee proposed to protect only 90% of the hills of Western Ghats should come under the protected area. That is 4156 villages lie within the zone and the villages have a say in "development" of the area as per the green law. The people should be given choice on whether there should be hydro project there. But are the people really aware of the consequences of the project to make that decision?There will be no ban on hydroelectric projects. 30% of the water in proposed dams should be allowed to flow in the natural path; so that previous ecological life forms(fishes) could be preserved. Environmental clearances will be needed for all projects.There will be total ban on mining industries and those mines which already have licenses will be allowed to mine till their licensed time is over.Efforts are taken for keeping the ecological diversity and for preservation of the land. Animals like lions are reintroduced in forest preserves. A data base has been made for keeping a record of the plant growing in this ecologically diverse area. 589 plant species have been identified belonging to this area.There are few issues like the state of Kerala has its own data base which is not shared with others like state of Tamil Nadu or Karnataka state. Plants grow naturally in all states, we cannot say "this is our plant". Knowledge of the herbs and plants of  medicinal value must be shared with all. There are new issues like the state of Gujarat does not like the" lion" to be introduced in forests of Maharashtra state.When we are one nation, preserving the native species is our national goal and local issues should not divide us.