Bharatham : Uthishtatha-Jagratha : (wef-05/11/2012. )

Citizens’ Consultative Councils will help to promote more enlightened and informed discussions on the issues involved. Parliament has recently approved an Atomic Energy Regulatory Authority Bill. The Bill provides for an autonomous and professionally credible and competent Regulatory Body. It is obvious that a Regulatory Body should not be under the control of the persons to be regulated, which was the case until recently. Ultimately, regulation alone will not be adequate for achieving public acceptance. Education and social mobilisation through elected Local Bodies are equally important. The statement Mahatma Gandhi made over eigh decades ago that “India lives in its villages” is valid even today. The 2011 census has shown that nearly seventy per cent of our population of 120 crore live in villages. Rural poverty is more serious than urban poverty since most of the rural women and men depend on agriculture which is a high risk profession for their livelihood...

The Supreme Court of India has also raised several issues of public importance with reference to genetically modified crops and foods. Several State Governments have imposed a ban on the testing of GMOs. The Kerala Government has not allowed even the testing of genetically modified Rubber, although we need urgently rubber clones tolerant to higher temperature. Another recent example of the need for greater interaction between scientists and local communities is the concern expressed by the public in relation to the Kudankulam and other Nuclear Power Plants. Nuclear power is environmentally benign since it does not add to the green house gas burden. On the other hand, there are concerns about the safety of the Nuclear Power Plants, particularly in the context of what happened at Chernobyl many years ago and Fukushima recently. The tsunami induced Fukushima tragedy has given a big setback to the spread of nuclear power plants. Nuclear waste disposal is another ...

Our population is growing and is expected to reach 150 crore by 2030. The population size would have thus increased by five times since 1947. The Ecological Footprint as measured by the demand made by each individual on natural resources is also increasing,while the biocapacity to meet the growing needs is shrinking. In a democratic society like ours there is greater need for public and political understanding of the scientific facts underpinning events of great significance to the future of humankind, such as biodiversity loss and climate change. Recent examples in relation to differences in perception and apprehension are in the areas of genetic engineering and nuclear energy. While medical biotechnology has not generated fears about biosafety and environmental safety, food and agricultural biotechnology has evoked strong opposition. An area in medical biotechnology which is controversial is cloning. Generally, therapeutic cloning is acceptable, while reproduc...

Price volatility is one of the important causes of hunger. 2008 witnessed a sudden increase in the price of rice, wheat and other food grains.. India’s strategy for containing price volatility in major staple grains is to purchase adequate quantities of foodgrains from farmers at an assured minimum support price. At present, globally prices of food commodities are tending to rise. The situation will get worse with the increased frequency of occurrence of drought and floods, whether or not associated with climate change and global warming. It is clear that the future belongs to nations with grains and not guns. To be continued  ... Note : Let our rulers  open their eyes  and  lend their  ears  to the  warning  of  our  most valued  and  respected  Scientist  world  over  our  treasure "Dr. MS Swaminathan sir! "

It is well recognized that the hunger prevailing in the world now is largely due to inadequate purchasing power. The food security challenge can be related to the famine of jobs rather than the famine of food in the market. One of the easy methods of overcoming malnutrition is mainstreaming nutritional considerations in farming systems research and development. This will call for the development of a Farming system for Nutrition programme (FSN). The other area which requires attention is anticipatory action to meet the challenges arising from global warming and climate change. Steps will have to be taken to face the problems of drought, flood, high mean temperature and sea level rise. In all these areas we will need an interaction between public policy and technology. To be continued  ....

Dr M S Swaminathan, the Father of India’s Green Revolution and currently UNESCO Chair in Ecotechnology, delivered the GITAM Foundation Endowment Lecture 2012 in Visakhapatnam on Saturday. Following are excerpts from his speech. The year 2012 marks a historic transition in India from a ship- to- mouth existence to conferring the legal right to food based on homegrown food grains. This historic transition was achieved partly through what is popularly known as the green revolution. As early as January 1968 before the term green revolution was coined by Dr William Gaud of the United States, I warned Indian farmers about the need for mainstreaming ecological principles in farming practices. Ever-green revolution is the only pathway available to developing countries with small farms and a large malnourished population. The smaller the farm the greater is the need for marketable surplus. Unlike in UK, and other industrialised nations, nearly two thirds of the population...

Mankombu Sambasivan Swaminathan (born 7 August 1925) is an Indian geneticist and international administrator, renowned for his leading role in India's Green Revolution a program under which high-yield varieties of wheat and rice seedlings were planted in the fields of poor farmers. Dr. Swaminathan is known as "Indian Father of Green Revolution" for his leadership and success in introducing and further developing high-yielding varieties of wheat in India. He is the founder and chairman of the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation. His stated vision is to rid the world of hunger and poverty. Swaminathan is an advocate of moving India to sustainable development, especially using environmentally sustainable agriculture, sustainable food security and the preservation of biodiversity, which he calls an "evergreen revolution." From 1972 to 1979 he was director general of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research. He was Principal Secretary,...