CATEGORIES

THE GREAT FARM HUSTLE

Agroforestry is fast emerging as a win-win strategy to mitigate climate change and improve farmers' income. It is particularly so in India, home to one-fifth of the agroforestry carbon projects in the world. Over the past months ROHINI KRISHNAMURTHY has travelled to almost 20 villages across the country to understand how this market works. At all locations, she finds that communities and their land and labour are central to the projects. But they do not always benefit from the carbon revenue

CAN AGROFORESTRY CREDITS BE SAVED?

Ensure that farmers benefit from the carbon revenue and stay protected against market failure

Urban trap

Fearing loss of autonomy and access to government schemes, several villages across India are protesting against the decision to change their status to town

Dubious distinction

How Madhya Pradesh displaced Punjab as the country's leading state in stubble burning

TRADE TENSIONS

Why the benefits of agroforestry carbon trade do not trickle down to farmers

A fantastical lens

BIOPECULIARIS A LAUDABLE ATTEMPT TO CARVE A SPACE FOR SPECULATIVE CLIMATE FICTION WITHIN INDIAN LITERATURE. WHILE THE STORIES MAY NOT ALWAYS HIT THEIR MARK, THE ANTHOLOGY IS AN IMPORTANT STEP IN A GENRE THAT DESERVES MORE ATTENTION

Help on hold

US' decision to pause foreign aid could lead to hunger deaths, ruin economies of nations across Africa

Irrigation by snow

Declining rain and snowfall make farmers collect snow from higher altitudes to water their apple crops

Stem the rot

A fungal disease has hit the most widely sown sugarcane variety in Uttar Pradesh, threatening the country's sugar production

The mythos of ancient India's scientific excellence

Policymakers are obsessed by a fuddled idea of resurrecting a glorious civilisational past, and even IITs have fallen in line

A LEGACY THAT STINKS

India faces several significant challenges in remediating its legacy waste, which could derail its goal of becoming garbage-free by 2025-26

TERMITE TRAP

A common tall grass variety provides a chemical-free option to control termites, highlights the need for mainstreaming local ecological knowledge

CLIMATE'S UNSOLICITED PAYOUT

Rising weather extremes is destabilising the insurance industry, driving up premium prices and pushing insurers out of high-risk markets. The crisis is also spurring re-invention of insurance sector.

NOTHING PSEUDO ABOUT IT

The fibre-rich banana pseudo-stem is a treasure trove of minerals and health benefits

Organic move

After 10,000 farmers in Dantewada district secured Chhattisgarh's first organic certification, the entire district now gears up to transition fully to organic farming

No more a rarity

What has caused widespread outbreak of the rare Guillain-Barré syndrome cases from seven states of the country?

DeepSeek AI model is a sobering idea for India

The Chinese artificial intelligence breakthrough reveals how far behind India is in the race for technological prowess

'Fragile terrain not the cause of tunnel collapse but an excuse'

In November 2023, the under-construction Silkyara Bend-Barkot tunnel in Uttarakhand collapsed, trapping 41 workers under the rubble. The rescue operation in the 4.5 km tunnel lasted 17 days and involved multiple teams. Australian geologist ARNOLD DIX, who is also the president of Switzerland-based International Tunnelling and Underground Space Association, as well as an engineer, a barrister and a farmer, assisted in the mission at India's request. Dix has now written a book on the incident. In an interview with ADITYA MISRA, Dix says the mishap was a failure to adapt construction methods to the rock conditions encountered. Excerpts:

BUDGET SQUEEZE

Poised to woo the middle class and tame fiscal deficit, Union Budget 2025-26 cuts corners on key welfare schemes, offers little for climate adaptation and decarbonisation

Decoded script

Genomelndia project creates genomic sequence database of 10,000 Indians, moving a step forward in disease detection and treatment

Introduce layers in poverty measurement

This is with reference to the article \"Convenience of poverty lines\" (16-31 January, 2025). Poverty is not like atmospheric pressure, which can be scaled down with high-precision instruments. It is a matter of deprivation. Poverty is also highly misunderstood. At one extreme, poverty means no food, no clothes, bad health and inadequate shelters; in essence a dearth in common and customary amenities. One can recognise this poverty. But, even if a person's conditions are only a notch above this level, their situation slides through the slick fingers of all the measurement of figures and wielders of statistics.

On an equal footing

A mixed-gender cricket tournament in Madhya Pradesh boosts girls' participation in sports, empowers them to be changemakers

Avian influenza strains find new hosts

THE UK in late January confirmed its first human case of H5N1 avian influenza in three years. The case involves a poultry worker who contracted the virus after prolonged contact with infected birds, marking a rare instance of bird-to-human transmission in the country, says a statement released by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) on January 27.

Missed opportunity

The draft National Policy on Agricultural Marketing highlights challenges in markets but offers no long-term solutions beyond privatisation

THE CIRCULARITY ARGUMENT

A circular economy can help India achieve its developmental aspirations while following the low-carbon pathway. It will also help address the challenges of waste management, pollution and overexploitation of natural resources. Industries are already innovating to reuse high-volume wastes and have shown that the transition can usher in both environmental and financial windfalls

Banking on flawed drug voluntary licences

The Medicines Patent Pool is pushing for more VLs, but its bad deal with Novartis on a cancer drug shows the pitfalls

Lasting solutions

For the first time, the UN has recognised the role of indigenous communities in tackling aridity. A repository of traditional knowledge India has the wherewithal to lead the way

IMD at 150

India's journey into modern weather forecasting took a decisive turn 150 years ago with the establishment of India Meteorological Department during the British rule. The agency has come a long way since then, shaping the way the country predicts and responds to its diverse climate challenges

Every drop counts

In drought-prone Marathwada region, 14 villages have managed to counter water shortage by budgeting the resource

Threat to survival

Hollongapar Gibbon Sanctuary in Assam faces ecological challenges as railway electrification and hydrocarbon exploration endanger its fragile biodiversity