From scidev.net

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From this article onIndian scientists:
"Indian scientists must engage in policymaking by contributing more to public discussions on scientific and environmental issues, says a Nature editorial.

A few nongovernmental organisations in India, such as the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), have enormous influence on public opinion and policy in the country.

But some scientists complain that this impact is disproportionate to the thoroughness and reliability of the organisations' work.

The editorial says these grumbling scientists would do better to look at their own involvement in public debate and ask themselves whether their influence reflects their expertise.

According to the CSE, Indian scientists often have a low opinion of and do not participate in the public discussions accompanying science policymaking, instead preferring to concentrate on improving their status among peers.
From Gene deleting tool for safer crops?:
"If this technique is applied successsfully to other crops, it could allow farmers to grow non-transgenic and fully viable plants using seeds or pollen from GM plants — unlike the terminator gene system, which makes the plants infertile."
From this article on phones and biofuel
:"Access to electricity in rural areas is typically poor. By producing biofuel energy from organic matter, rural communities could sell it to the mobile phone companies, powering base stations that receive and transmit wireless signals.

Two pilot schemes are currently underway in Lagos, Nigeria and Pune, India, to try powering GSM networks with biofuels. GSM is a digital standard for mobile phones used by more than two billion people worldwide.
...
In Lagos, soy oil biodiesel is being used to power a suburban base station owned by MTN in a six-month trial. The study in Pune will use cotton and the hedge plant jatropha, according to a BBC report."
For more on Jatropha, see Jatropha in India
For news on an Indian pioneer on biofuel, see Vulluvar's post.