CATEGORIES

CASH, ON DELIVERY

India has employed its direct benefit transfer system to help people tide over the ongoing health and economic crises. Its real test will begin when the crises deepen

Our Daily Dose Of Antibiotics

As dairy farmers inject antibiotics in their livestock, chances are high that these are passed on to humans through milk, finds Delhi-based non-profit Centre for Science and Environment

Consumption In Covid-19 Times

We have a unique opportunity to change our food habits and push for policies that promote healthy, nutritious and safe food. This can also reduce our carbon footprint.

THE OTHER PLAGUE

Locusts have returned to India in just two months and are spreading to new territories. Has climate change added another layer of stress and uncertainty?

DEAD LINES

More than 70 per cent coal-fired power plants will not meet environmental norms by 2022, five years after their deadline was extended, says a new report by Delhi-based non-profit Centre for Science and Environment

The wait

DOWN TO EARTH’S VIVEK MISHRA HAS WALKED FROM DELHI TO SHRAVASTI IN UTTAR PRADESH TO CAPTURE THE PLIGHT OF WORKERS RETURNING HOME AFTER LOSING LIVELIHOODS DUE TO THE COVID-19 LOCKDOWN. THIS IS THE SECOND OF THE TWO-PART REPORT DOCUMENTING HIS 600 KM JOURNEY

Turn over a delicious leaf

THE BEAUTIFUL LEAVES OF KACHNAR ARE NUTRITIOUS TOO

Wildlife be damned

A gas well on fire poses an existential threat to Assam’s Dibru-Saikhowa National Park ANUPAM CHAKRAVARTTY TINSUKIA, ASSAM

GERMINATING RARITY

UTTARAKHAND HAS PUT TOGETHER AN EXTRAORDINARY ENDEMIC VEGETATION IN THE LAST THREE YEARS

Eat right to fight off COVID-19

India is rich in nutrient-dense food crops. All we need to do is repurpose policies towards a food system that is resilient and sustainable

Dangerous dilution

Change of Forest Rights Act in three states will hit forest-dwelling communities hard

Covid-19 - Ultimate Cure?

The idea that those who have had COVID-19 will, indeed, be immune to the virus is fraught with scientific, ethical and legal issues

Under The Cover Of Lockdown

With lockdown in force, governments across the globe are scrambling to implement steps they were unable to take due to opposition from people and political parties. India is no exception, and the government is blatantly diluting crucial laws in favour of the industry KUNDAN PANDEY analyses changes in labour laws, ISHAN KUKRETI on environmental laws and SHAGUN KAPIL on agricultural laws

Infant Mortality Rate: Too Varied To Celebrate

It may bring some relief that the Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) in India has fallen from 50 to 32 per 1,000 live births over the past decade, but the wide variation in numbers across the country offsets the achievement.

TO TEST OR NOT

As India begins to relax lockdown rules, there is a growing demand for tests on a mass scale. But it might not help

The long walk home

AS INDIA WITNESSES ITS LARGEST MOVEMENT OF WORKERS, DOWN TO EARTH’S VIVEK MISHRA WALKS WITH THEM FOR OVER 500 KM, CHRONICLING THE CRISIS. THIS IS THE FIRST OF A TWO-PART REPORT

The order of spread

THE RULES OF CONTAGION IS LESS ABOUT DISEASES AND MORE ABOUT THE UNDERLYING PRINCIPLES OF CONTAGION

SAMPLE THE UNKOWN

Testing is no doubt the cornerstone of the fight against COVID-19. But the world’s growing obsession with tests might weaken our response to the pandemic.

A NEW STORM SURGE

Amphan’s rapid intensification underlines how cyclones are becoming terrifyingly unfamiliar AKSHIT SANGOMLA NEW DELHI and JAYANTA BASU KOLKATA

Burst of orange

THE LITTLE-KNOWN UTILITIES OF THE UBIQUITOUS GULMOHAR TREE

A burden too heavy

Social worker Abul Kalam Azad saves a newborn when an exhausted and hungry migrant worker abandoned him along the road

Roots Of Water Scarcity

Contrary to popular belief, afforestation programmes that blindly plant trees in the hope of conserving water only end up consuming more water

Immune To Corona!

An ancient herb is staging a comeback for its properties to boost immunity

WARNING SIGNAL

Why does India fail to caution its farmers of weather changes despite a rich meteorological infrastructure?

HAVE WE GIVEN IN?

Countries are taking a leap of faith to return to normalcy and get the economy going. India is desperately trying to follow suit. But can it do so without letting its guard down?

DISTRESS DRAFT

Centre is in a rush to amend power law. The draft bill takes away powers from state governments and gives them to private firms

Between A Cure And Access

As researchers scramble to come up with therapies to treat COVID-19, patents could keep the drugs out of reach for many

THE BIG PHARMA MESS

The pandemic has exposed a serious fault line in the global pharmaceutical supply chain, created by an industry that flourished by putting profit before public health. Amid shortage of life-saving drugs, countries now scramble for self-sufficiency. But circumventing market dynamics may not be easy

“No single religious narrative has been able to assert claim over the Brahmaputra”

THE UNQUIET RIVER BY ARUPJYOTI SAIKIA TRACES THE TUMULTUOUS TRANSFORMATION OF THE BRAHMAPUTRA OVER THE CENTURIES. SAIKIA SPOKE TO ISHAN KUKRETI

Turmoil in the floodplains

IN THIS EXCERPT FROM THE UNQUIET RIVER, ARUPJYOTI SAIKIA NARRATES THE TENSIONS THAT ERUPTED BETWEEN ASSAM’S PEASANTS AND MIGRANTS FROM EAST BENGAL IN THE BEGINNING OF THE CENTURY