GM foods labeling law in India soon
Consumers will soon be able to know if they are being offered genetically modified (GM) food or ingredients and be able to make a choice, whether or not to buy/ eat such food. There will be a law for labeling of GM foods.
- January 2006, Advanced Biotech -
Concern over field trials of GM food
Many recent studies have strongly reinforced fears about the dangers of GM foods. Statistics available worldwide showed that the number of field trials of GM crops began declining.
- January 4, The Hindu
Mangrove forest area to be increased:
Thiru Gagandeep Singh Bedi, I.A.S., District Collector, Cuddalore has formulated a proposal to increase the mangrove forests from 650 hectares to 750 hectares by raising mangrove forest at Pichavaram at the cost of Rs. 28 lakh. The project would be taken up under the National Rural Employment Guarantee programme.
The Hindu, 12th June
Tamil Nadu tops in Industrialization: Tamil Nadu stands number one in the number of industrial units in the country. Out of 42.12 million units in the country it has about 44.66 lakh units which are 10.56 percent of the total enterprises in the country. Maharashtra follows with 43.74 lakh units (10.39 percent), next comes West Bengal 42.85 lakh (10.17 percent), Andhra Pradesh 40.23 lakh (9.55 percent) and Uttar Pradesh 40.15 lakh (9.52).
The New Indian Express, 12 th June
Need for Fisheries development board:
The union Cabinet approved for setting up of a National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB). The Board will focus on fisheries and aquaculture. It will also promote professional management to improve production and to achieve sustainable management by carrying out intensive aquaculture, reservoir fisheries, brackish water aquaculture, Mari culture, seaweed cultivation, development of infrastructure and streamlining domestic marketing.
The Hindu, 17 th June
Clean mechanism on pollution issue urged:
Thiru Sasikant K. Panigrahi, Director, Environment and Forests, Planning Commission, Government of India said that Tamil Nadu ranks fourth in carbon credits with wind energy, bio-diesel, plantation and renewable energy sectors taking to Clean Development Mechanism (CDM),
The New Indian Express, 17 th June
National Policy for fishermen on cards, says Swaminathan: A national policy for fishermen, on the lines of the National Farmer Policy, was on the anvil and the revised draft was being finalized, M.S.Swaminathan, Chairman, National Commission for Farmers and chairman, M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF), said here on Thursday. Despite several efforts, there was no policy for the development of local fisheries, he said and called for a focus on technology, infrastructure, training and trade in the sector. He was inaugurating a two-day nation workshop on ‘Stakeholders' appraisal of the vital missing links in coastal aquaculture development, organized jointly by the Central Institute of Brackish water Aquaculture and Coastal Aquaculture Society of India
Friday August 11, 2006
TNPCB to keep tabs on e-waste:
The Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) will formulate certain policies to prevent the threat of e-waste management and these policies will be submitted to the State Government for incorporating them into the new IT policy that is likely to be introduced soon. According to K.A.Mathew, Chairman, TNPCB, so far, e-waste dumping was not done in huge quantities in the city. But he felt the same would be a serious threat in the immediate future. “The city's growth as an IT industry hub will soon pose problems of e-waste generation and e-waste dumping. The threat of highly toxic electronic waste (e-waste) was not just related to the IT sector, all electronic and electrical goods, including mobile phones were major sources of e-waste. “In Chennai, we have two e-waste recycling factories in the private sector at present.
City Express Wednesday, July 26, 2006
Minister for collective efforts to tackle pollution:
Environment Minister T.P. M. Mohideen Khan on Thursday called upon members to extend cooperation for finding an amicable solution to problems relating to pollution. Replying to queries raised in the Assembly on environment, he said issues such as release of untreated industrial effluents in some parts of the districts posed a threat to environment and agriculture
The Hindu August 11 th 2006
Eco-restoration project for lakes:
The State Government has proposed a comprehensive eco-restoration project for five lakes in and around Chennai. In respect of Chitlapakkam, Periya Eri-Tiruneermalai, Palkani-Pallavaram and Madipakkam lakes besides the Pallikaranai marsh, steps are being taken to prepare detailed project reports.An integrated coastal Zone Management plan was under preparation for the Pulicat to Palar stretch. Being drawn up as a pilot project, the preparation of the plan involved various departments, agencies and all stakeholders. It was entrusted to the Institute of Ocean Management, Anna University.
The Hindu August 11 th 2006
Mamallapuram will be made a world heritage tourist spot”:
The Union Minister for Tourism and Culture, Ambika Soni on Friday promised that all about efforts would be made to make Mamallapuram a world heritage tourist spot. The Archaeological Society of India (ASI) Superintending Archaeologist, Sathyabama Badrinath, apprised the Minister of the recent evacuations made in Mamallapuram especially after the tsunami and other renovation projects undertaken by the organization. As part of the Phase-I works, relocation of crafts bazaar, parking area and landscaping of the various tourists spots have been carried out in Mamallapuram.
The Hindu August 26 th 2006
Bio-fertilizer unit for fisherwomen: Kancheepuram:
Orchid Trust, a corporate social responsibility division of pharma major Orchid Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals Ltd, has set up a unit to produce bio-fertilizers and biocontrol agents for fisherwomen at Pattipulam, a coastal village in the district. Christened as ‘Development Organisation for Fisherwomen's Empowerment and Livelihood (DOFWEL)', the unit has been established with a seed capital of Rs 77 lakh and jointly funded by the Orchid Trust, the Rural Development Department of the Government of Tamil Nadu and the Asian Development Bank, according to a communication from the trust.
Casuarina planting along coastal belt set to begin:
Chengalpattu: An estimated 18 lakh casuarina saplings are ready to be planted in the coastal belt of Kancheepuram district. The saplings have been raised by the Social Forestry Division of the Forest department at Chengalpattu in five of its nurseries located in four villages on the East Coast Road . The saplings will be planted on a 26-kilometre stretch from Neelankarai to Vadanemmeli village on the East Coast Road . M.Mohammed Iqbal Basha, Divisional Forest Officer, Social Forestry Division, Chengalpattu, said the saplings were raised under the World Bank-aided scheme called Emergency Tsunami Reconstruction Project. Under this programme a total of 18 lakh casuarina saplings will be planted in an area of 450 ha. It is also planned to plant casuarinas on another 50 ha with financial assistance from the Central Government, he said. The raising of saplings began last year and now they are ready to be planted, he said. Apart from casuarina saplings the officials had also raised saplings of a few other plant species.
The Hindu, September 11 th 2006
Project on mangroves in coast yet to take off:
Tirunelveli A proposal to raise shelterbelt and mangrove plantations along the coastal region of Tamil Nadu funded by World Bank to neutralise giant waves like tsunami is yet to take off due to non-availability of funds. After the entire shoreline of the State was attacked by tsunami waves in December 2004, proposals were drawn to create and strengthen shelterbelts and mangroves on the coastal regions of the State with the funding of World Bank. Christened `World Bank Aided Tsunami Restoration Project', an extensive plan at an outlay of Rs. 8.57 crore was prepared to raise shelterbelts and mangroves in the coastal districts and some inland districts, which suffered a lot due to floods in the past. Since Cuddalore and Nagapattinam districts received special funds for similar projects, they were not included in this scheme.
The Hindu
Seaweed cultivation along coast inspected:
Ramanathapuram: A high level team from the Sri Lankan Government and the World Bank, which studied the project sites of seaweed cultivation along the coast of Rameswaram on Friday, has decided to introduce seaweed cultivation in the northeast of Sri Lanka to rejuvenate the economy of tsunami and conflict-affected people. They visited Aliangadu, Mangadu coastal villages near Mandapam, where members of the Self Help Groups run by fisherwomen, have floated rafts on the shallow areas of the sea to grow seaweed. The team held in-depth study about the profitability for women, who engaged in the cultivation. The team also studied the usage of seaweed, methods of cultivation, environmental issues, marketing, financing and export opportunities.
The Hindu
Early disaster warning system to be installed in Cuddalore:
Chennai: In an effort to establish an early disaster warning system, very high frequency equipment and public address systems with sirens will be installed in 55 coastal and flood-prone villages in Cuddalore, District Collector Gagandeep Singh Bedi has said. The project, being implemented along with the UNDP, will install a system that will automatically trigger warnings through the sirens and public address facilities about an impending natural calamity. The district is also getting ready vulnerability maps of the 651 villages in the district for preparing the communities to handle a disaster situation.
The Hindu
Training for tsunami-hit fishermen SHGs: Pudukottai:
A total of 520 self-help groups (SHGs) of fishermen and fisherwomen, affected by the tsunami in the coastal villages of Pudukottai district will undergo training on economic activity shortly. The training is to be imparted in 14 economic activities for ensuring sustenance of livelihood for the affected fishermen and fisherwomen. The activities, among other things, included making of value-added fish products and ornamental sea-shell, ornamental fish-farming, sea-food processing, sea-weed cultivation, motor-engine mechanism. "The training will be given by the faculty from the Industrial Training Institute, Pudukottai, besides the resource-persons from the non-governmental organisations," said the Project Co-ordinator, tsunami, M. Prabakaran
The Hindu
