Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India (BRAI) Bill, 2009 prepared by the Department of Biotechnology, Section 63, Chapter 13 has a clause which reads "Whoever, without any evidence or scientific record misleads the public about the safety of the organisms and products specified in Part I or Part II or Part III of the Schedule I, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than six months but which may extend to one year and with fine which may extend to two lakh rupees or with both.".
Will this apply to people who say they are safe, as much as people who are skeptical?
Sastri garu wrote a note to be shard with the core group and having seen the document I felt that it does need to be shared widely with KICS and I am attaching the same. To me it is as contemporary an expression of KICS, the Indian S&T manifesto and ideas that KICS should engage with in the coming years with all its limitations as a decentred network.
I request *ALL *of you to kindly go through this note and share with either Sastri garu, (
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), me or the e-group your immediate thoughts on this note - shambu
Knowledge In Civil Society (KICS) A Draft Concept Note -II 24th February 2010 - Core Group Meeting
I. Introduction:
KICS has been working for five years now, as an informal convergence of civil society activists and academicians who are interested in the areas of concern to civil society. Occasionally, KICS has been able to draw in other experienced individuals and professional depending on their interests and the issue at hand. During these five years KICS has been mainly holding workshops and sharing sessions in small groups. In between these events, there has been regular exchange of ideas, information, and views, albeit between a few active contributors, via mailing lists. A few research and case studies under different projects have also added a dimension of proactive synthesising of some of the knowledge and experience in civil society. KICS has also been to formulate an Indian manifesto on science and technology following a series of consultations. This manifesto has inspired a few case studies on different sectors that would feed into the draft in the coming months. Some of this knowledge and information have been consolidated through a few publications, films and more recently through the website. So, perhaps there are many who are passive recipients/beneficiaries of this exchange.
Legally, KICS has been functioning as part of CWS. A quick email consultation on this about a year back revealed that most persons wanted KICS to try and have its own legal identity. There were a few who struck a cautionary note to this move. In view of the latter, a firm decision on getting a separate identity for KICS had been postponed. We now feel that we should move ahead with the proposal in such a manner that will take the views of the few ‘cautioners’, and evolve a consensus.
