CATEGORIES

Cyclone Fani - New Gust Of Wind
Down To Earth

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.

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10+ mins  |
May 16, 2019
The Countdown Begins
Down To Earth

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

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10+ mins  |
June 01, 2019
Welfare Interrupted
Down To Earth

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

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6 mins  |
June 01, 2019
A Sweet Trick
Down To Earth

A Sweet Trick

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

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4 mins  |
June 01, 2019
Reverse Gear On Oil Palm
Down To Earth

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

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5 mins  |
April 01, 2019
March Against Asbestos
Down To Earth

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

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3 mins  |
April 01, 2019
Anger Of The Jobless Youth
Down To Earth

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.

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10 mins  |
May 01, 2018
How IT Threatens Democracy
Down To Earth

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.

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3 mins  |
May 01, 2018
Affirmative Action Policies Are Under Threat
Down To Earth

Affirmative Action Policies Are Under Threat

Dalit leader Prakash Ambedkar speaks to Jitendra.

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2 mins  |
May 01, 2018
Root unearthed
Down To Earth

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.

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3 mins  |
December 16, 2016
Casted Out
Down To Earth

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

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5 mins  |
June 16, 2018
Shocking Waste
Down To Earth

Shocking Waste

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

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4 mins  |
June 16, 2018
Made Of Sand
Down To Earth

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

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10+ mins  |
June 16, 2018
Spice Route
Down To Earth

Spice Route

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

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3 mins  |
June 16, 2018
Evergreening Rampant In India
Down To Earth

Evergreening Rampant In India

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

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3 mins  |
June 16, 2018
For The Sake Of Oaks
Down To Earth

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

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4 mins  |
April 16, 2018
The Chinese Patent Juggernaut
Down To Earth

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

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3 mins  |
April 16, 2018
The Malthusian Muddle
Down To Earth

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

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5 mins  |
April 16, 2018
Tribunal On A Tightrope
Down To Earth

Tribunal On A Tightrope

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

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10+ mins  |
April 16, 2018
Warned, Yet Unprepared
Down To Earth

Warned, Yet Unprepared

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

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6 mins  |
August 16, 2017
The Net Result Of Bonn Is Lukewarm At Best
Down To Earth

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

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6 mins  |
December 01, 2017
Down To Earth

Drilling To Extinction

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

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3 mins  |
December 01, 2017
Employed But Poor
Down To Earth

Employed But Poor

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

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2 mins  |
December 01, 2017
Under Mysterious Threat
Down To Earth

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?

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5 mins  |
November 16, 2016
Emerging Pollution Capitals of India
Down To Earth

Emerging Pollution Capitals of India

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

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5 mins  |
November 16, 2016
Route To Resilience
Down To Earth

Route To Resilience

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

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4 mins  |
February 01, 2018
Cameroon Turns Hazard Into Convenience
Down To Earth

Cameroon Turns Hazard Into Convenience

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

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4 mins  |
February 01, 2018
Down To Earth

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.

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4 mins  |
February 16, 2018
It's A Sham
Down To Earth

It's A Sham

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

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4 mins  |
February 16, 2018
Stimulus That Can Spoil The Milk Sector
Down To Earth

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.

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4 mins  |
February 16, 2018