CATEGORIES

Overshadowed

India’s promising wind energy sector is struggling as the government gives more attention to solar power

Treasure in excreta

Phosphorus, a fast depleting natural resource, can be extracted from the unlikeliest avenue: faecal sludge SHAGUN KAPIL NEW DELHI

THE MAGIC BULLET'S TOLL

What if a saviour turns into a killer? After 80 years of use, overuse and abuse of antibiotics—termed magic bullets—microbes have become resistant to them. Antibiotic resistant diseases are undoing the great strides in modern treatment. VIBHA VARSHNEY exposes a growing public health crisis

Not so wild

SICKLE SENNA, A WIDELY AVAILABLE BUT LITTLE-KNOWN HERB, IS READY TO TAKE ON THE PHARMA INDUSTRY

Flowers at will

FARMERS OF A VILLAGE IN WEST BENGAL USE ARTIFICIAL LIGHT TO MAKE FLOWERS BLOOM AS PER MARKET DEMANDGURVINDER SINGH PURBA MEDINIPUR

Cold trap

India recognised cold waves as disaster in 2012. But the country still does not have an effective action plan to mitigate its impact

Between wars

Landless Scheduled Caste farmers of Punjab vow to intensify their movement as the state prepares to acquire village common land for industrial development

Wildlife Recall

ONCE IN THE GRIP OF ARMED INSURGENCY, A NATIONAL PARK HAS LESSONS IN WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT

Tasty Tubers

A LOST VEGETABLE OF AFRICA HAS GAINED ROOTS IN SOUTH INDIA WHERE IT IS COOKED IN A NUMBER OF WAYS

Tree Of Knowledge

Research on tree rings is now providing definitive evidence of global warming and its impact on weather systems

Farm Raiders

Western India is facing its most fierce locust attack in nearly three decades, the origins of which lie outside the country and were triggered by weather events attributable to climate change

Bereft Of Science

THE AUTHOR FAILS TO EVEN PROVIDE RUDIMENTARY EVIDENCE FOR HIS EXTRAORDINARY CLAIMS

1.37 Billion And Not Counting

India, like the rest of the world, is intensely debating population explosion. But while countries are struggling to keep their numbers at replacement level, India is on the right path towards stabilising population sooner than expected. So what's the discussion all about? KUNDAN PANDEY captures the debate

Thar's Friend

MEET TINY MELON KACHRI WHICH TURNS SHORT OF GOLD UPON DRYING AND CHANGES THE FATE OF ALL THOSE ASSOCIATED WITH IT

We Will Never Have Paris

The climate emergency is defined not in terms of deadlines but critical thresholds. Four years after the Paris Agreement, on the eve of the 25 th UN Climate Change Conference, countries' under-performance on their Paris targets is set to take us past 3°C warming. Next year, countries are due to announce a new set of climate action goals. Can we course-correct to achieve the objective of being carbon neutral by 2050 and stay below the 1.5°C warming threshold? An assessment by TARUN GOPALAKRISHNAN & KAPIL SUBRAMANIAN

Punctured Cover

Crop insurance companies withdraw from Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana as extreme weather events spike claim rates resulting in heavy losses JITENDRA

‘Weavers Of Bengal Were An Incredible Asset For The East India Company'

WILLIAM DALRYMPLE IS HABITUATED TO HIS BOOKS CREATING A BUZZ. HIS LATEST, THE ANARCHY, FOCUSES ON HOW A JOINT- STOCK COMPANY, ESTABLISHED BY THE MERCHANTS OF LONDON, TOOK OVER PRACTICALLY THE ENTIRE INDIAN SUBCONTINENT BETWEEN 1756 AND 1803. RAJAT GHAI SPEAKS TO THE HISTORIAN-AUTHOR ABOUT THE EAST INDIA COMPANY AND THE FACTORS THAT LED TO ITS ASCENT IN SOUTH ASIA. EXCERPTS:

A Perfect Zero

Cities in the Philippines have adopted zero waste model to manage their waste. It's not just turning their waste to gold, but also making the surroundings clean, green and environmentally sustainable

Seed Money

CHIRONJI, A MILDLY SWEET NUT, ENSURES THAT FOREST DWELLERS NEVER RUN OUT OF CASH

Lockdown's Other Victim

Walnut tree has been the strange casualty of Kashmir’s transition from a state to a Union Territory

Let It Flow

Two private and one government owners of dams on the Ganga refuse to follow the upcoming water discharge guidelines necessary for the cleaning and rejuvenation of the river

Chaos Deferred

India's withdrawl from the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership sits well in this era of hyper deglobalisation. It now needs a roadmap to make the domestic economy competitive.

Farmer And The New-Age Health Market

India’s booming nutraceutical market provides a big opportunity to farmer producer organisations

Himachal's Affair With Flowers

Farmers in Himachal Pradesh are ditching traditional food crops to grow aromatic plants that offer higher and assured returns

“Community Rights Over Common Lands Must Be Recognised”

COMMONS LIKE GRAZING LANDS, WASTELANDS, LAKES AND COMMUNITY FORESTS ARE RAPIDLY VANISHING, PUTTING THE LIVELIHOODS OF MARGINALISED PEOPLE AT RISK. JITENDRA SPOKE TO RUTH MEINZEN-DICK, A SENIOR RESEARCH FELLOW AT THE US-BASED INTERNATIONAL FOOD POLICY RESEARCH INSTITUTE, ON THE COMMONS, COMMUNITIES AND POLICIES

Default By Design?

As the Union government’s PM-KISAN scheme completes a crop cycle, farmers complain of exclusion and partial cash support

Powerful Winds Of Change

Technological improvements and falling costs are driving a boom in offshore wind power projects worldwide. Still, the industry faces its own peculiar share of challenges

Debunking Myths On Migration

ABHIJIT V BANERJEE and ESTHER DUFLO, who jointly won the 2019 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences recently, say that wage differences between countries have little to do with whether or not people migrate. In fact, evidence suggests that migration makes both migrants and local people better off

Chambal In The Making

Soil erosion has triggered expansion of ravines in four districts of Gujarat, threatening agriculture and livelihood

The Weather Paywall

There will be heavy rainfall in... (subscribe to read on). That’s how all weather information will be delivered in the future, if private players are allowed to have their way. The chase to control and commodify forecast data is heating up. Competition could lead to greater accuracy in predictions, but it might also corrupt the public service that has so far been free.