CATEGORIES

Cyclone Fani - New Gust Of Wind

Cyclone Fani hits Odisha, bringing back horrid memories of the 1999 super cyclone. The state is better prepared now. But a changing climate the chemistry of cyclones as changed. This poses a bigger threat.

The Countdown Begins

In the world’s biggest-ever electoral exercise, the largest democracy has elected a new government. It’s not just a national occasion of celebration and hope; the world is closely watching India. The new government is taking charge when the countdown to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (sdgs) has begun. In just 10 years—by 2030 or in just two tenures of a Union government in India—the world has to deliver on the ambitious 17 sdgs and 169 targets.For each of these goals, India has the pivotal role in defining whether the world will be able to meet these targets. That's because of the sheer number of Indians who are lagging behind in each of these development indices. So, for the new government it is not just a national development agenda, but also a global responsibility. Down To Earth has set a roadmap for the new government, which can also become a framework for the world to ensure development for all

Welfare Interrupted

Sloppy government attitude holds up a project and a technology that can manage faecal waste as well as generate clean fuel SHAGUN KAPIL VALSAD, GUJARAT

A Sweet Trick

The sugar lobby does not want an answer to the global debate on whether sugar is bad for health

Reverse Gear On Oil Palm

Sixteen years after the Supreme Court banned monoculture plantations in Andaman and Nicobar Islands' fragile ecosystem, the administration wants it revoked

March Against Asbestos

Though its use is banned in most countries, the asbestos industry continues to thrive at the cost of putting millions of people at risk

Anger Of The Jobless Youth

Their frustrations in an unjust world can take various expressions—a fidayeen in iraq, a stone pelter in kashmir, a mercenary in saudi arabia, a rabid gaurakshak (cow protector) in India or a hedonist in shanghai.

How IT Threatens Democracy

Social media could be just the start of a slippery slope leading to an orwellian world controlled by big data brother.

Affirmative Action Policies Are Under Threat

Dalit leader Prakash Ambedkar speaks to Jitendra.

Root unearthed

Gandrayani is a root used widely in Uttarakhand to enhance the flavour of dishes. But there is hardly any research on the health benefits of this plant.

Casted Out

Discrimination against the Dalits is still pervasive in our society, and this is seriously marring the potential of the Mid Day Meal Scheme

Shocking Waste

India enacted a law to manage e-waste in 2016, but lack of data and a monitoring mechanism have rendered it toothless

Made Of Sand

India is importing river sand to satiate the growing demand of its construction industry and to keep soaring sand prices in check. But imports alone will not suffice without effective implementation of regulations and promotion of alternative construction materials. An analysis

Spice Route

Found in high altitude forests, lichens are an important ingredient of almost all spice mixes of India

Evergreening Rampant In India

India's patent office has ignored the strict safeguards against evergreening and allowed a flood of secondary drug patents

For The Sake Of Oaks

Uttarakhand should use inflammable chirpines to generate power. This would contain forest fires that are threatening native oak trees and provide employment

The Chinese Patent Juggernaut

China has toppled Japan from No 2 spot and is set to become the leader in global patent filings, specially in future technologies

The Malthusian Muddle

In these times of climate change, the world needs fresh ideas to get out of the logjam over whether population is a curse or a resource

Tribunal On A Tightrope

Poor implementation of polluter pays principle and conflicts with the environment ministry risks the National Green Tribunal's effectiveness.

Warned, Yet Unprepared

States prone to floods have failed to implement management schemes, finds a performance audit of CAG 

The Net Result Of Bonn Is Lukewarm At Best

The recently-concluded COP delivered little considering what the world has witnessed in terms of climate-induced loss in 2017

Drilling To Extinction

Unregulated large-scale mining activities have decimated plant and wildlife populations in the once-rich Saranda forest in Jharkhand

Employed But Poor

Poverty among employed people underscores the need for a new strategy on job creation

Under Mysterious Threat

About 100 children in Odisha's tribal district of Malkangiri have died of viral encephalitis in the past two months. Is the state emerging as another hotbed of acute encephalitis syndrome?

Emerging Pollution Capitals of India

As Delhi chokes on bad air, other cities are not far behind

Route To Resilience

A new study suggests that herbivores can protect ecosystems from climate change.

Cameroon Turns Hazard Into Convenience

Cameroon is fighting against floods by recycling plastic waste into building blocks.

Unmasking The Budget

The last full budget presented by Arun Jaitley was overwhelmingly focused on pro-people initiatives and the finance minister spent the initial 20 minutes of his speech on agriculture. The second most important part of his speech was public health. Jaitley was also eager to underline the achievements of his government ahead of next year's general elections and highlighted programmes like Ujjwala Yojana, Saubhagya Yojana, implementation of GST and improved ranking in ease of doing business. However, the government neglected a number of issues like climate change and its flagship programme Swachh Bharat Mission.

It's A Sham

People's participation in formulation of India's annual budget is virtually negligible.

Stimulus That Can Spoil The Milk Sector

Karnataka government's financial stimulus to its dairy cooperative is benefitting 2.5 million farmers, but can destabilise the national market.