ICAR Servers Breached Twice: Concerns Over Data Wipeout and Potential Cover-up

India’s premier agricultural research body, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), and its recruitment wing, the Agricultural Scientists Recruitment Board (ASRB), have faced a serious data breach. In February and March this year, sensitive information vanished from ICAR’s main server in New Delhi. Shockingly, the backup server in Hyderabad also suffered a data wipeout…

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Farmers’ Rights Act Amendments Face Scrutiny Over Consultation Process

Concerns have been raised by independent scientists, environmentalists, and farmer leaders regarding the process for amending the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights (PPV&FR) Act of 2001. They have written to Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, expressing worries about how the changes are being discussed. The Alliance for Sustainable and Holistic Agriculture (ASHA-Kisan…

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Pulse Prices Crash Below Minimum Support Price, Farmers Hesitate to Cultivate

India aims for self-sufficiency in pulses, but recent trends show a concerning decline in cultivation area. Despite the government’s ‘Pulses Mission’ and ambitious targets for 2030-31, farmers are reluctant to grow pulses because they are not assured of receiving prices at or above the Minimum Support Price (MSP). This has led to a significant drop…

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Ecologist Madhav Gadgil Advocates Repealing Wildlife Act, Empowering Local Communities

Eminent ecologist Madhav Gadgil has once again called for the repeal of the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972 (WLPA). He stated that the Act is “anti-people” and that the Forest Department, which he believes is “helpless in protecting human lives from wildlife,” should be dismantled. Gadgil made these remarks during an online convention announcing the…

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