Down To Earth
Rockstar Gourd
The humble gourd that sculpted the culture and traditions of rural India for ages is falling out of favour.
4 min |
March 01, 2019
Down To Earth
Robots Are Here, Almost
The use of industrial robots is growing at an unprecedented rate in India. Are blue-collar jobs under threat?
3 min |
March 01, 2019
Down To Earth
Rise Of The Fall
Fall Armyworm, a deadly but little understood crop pest, poses a threat to food security and livelihoods of millions as it ravages crops in Africa and now Asia. First detected in July 2018 in India, the pest has caused widespread damage to maize crops, raising the possibility that the country may have to import maize.
10+ min |
March 01, 2019
Down To Earth
Hidden Elixir
A one-stop medicine shop, amrakh can be the wow factor in homemade pickles and chutneys.
3 min |
March 01, 2019
Down To Earth
Drought Aggravates Poverty
Study shows during drought years in Rajasthan, the vulnerability of rural households to poverty increases.
3 min |
March 01, 2019
Down To Earth
Bedaquiline And India's Patent Law
Opposition to the new patent claims on the Johnson & Johnson drug is a test of how well the rules against evergreening are working.
2 min |
March 01, 2019
Down To Earth
Will Nudge Come To Shove?
It is crucial that nudge as a tool is used meticulously for political canvassing
4 min |
February 16, 2019
Down To Earth
Software Outsmarts Drug Research
Now, a programme can bypass patented drug pathways and create synthetically-produced medicines
2 min |
February 16, 2019
Down To Earth
Quick Fix Aid
A first after many years, farmers are at the centre of political attention. Ahead of the general elections, there is a rush of cash support schemes to woo them. This may bring some solace to farmers, but will the schemes have a lasting impact?
10+ min |
February 16, 2019
Down To Earth
Potato's Neglected Cousins
Tubers come in all shapes, sizes and colours, and pack quite a punch
3 min |
February 16, 2019
Down To Earth
Out Of The Legal Hole
There is no such thing as environmentally acceptable and safe rat-hole coal mining and hence this primitive practice must be discontinued
3 min |
February 16, 2019
Domus India
A New Beginning Atlas For The End Of The World
The critical nexus the Atlas for the End of the World addresses is the global tension between food production, urbanisation and biodiversity
5 min |
Febuary 2019
Down To Earth
Whose Waste Is It?
Producers are shifting their plastic recovery responsibility to other companies
3 min |
February 01, 2019
Down To Earth
Who Is Economically Secular?
The rich have the chance to get richer in an economic crisis, while the poor face the prospect of sinking deeper in poverty
2 min |
February 01, 2019
Down To Earth
Trial After Error
AGROCHEMICAL AND biotech giant Monsanto’s genetically modified cotton seed business is out of trouble in India; but only for the time being.
4 min |
February 01, 2019
Down To Earth
The Fast Track To Disaster
India's decision to start a patent prosecution highway for Japanese firms could open the tollgates to hasty approvals
2 min |
February 01, 2019
Down To Earth
Good Old Sap
Gums secreted by trees are a treasure trove of nutrition and have been used by communities in making seasonal delicacies
3 min |
February 01, 2019
Down To Earth
Conflict Of Diet
It's not just fragmented corridors that take elephants to farms. They get drawn towards crops that improve their state of mind and well-being
3 min |
February 01, 2019
Sanctuary Asia
Sulabha Chakravarty
August 15, 1963 – August 19, 2018)
4 min |
February 2019
Sanctuary Asia
Trapping To Protect
The Camera as a Conservation Tool.
4 min |
February 2019
Sanctuary Asia
The Sanctuary Interview - Meet Pankaj Sharma
It would be an understatement to say that Pankaj Sharma is a brave and unassuming man. Part of a crack defence team that quite literally entrusted their lives with each other, they hit back at rhino poachers who had taken to killing rhinos in Kaziranga, virtually unchallenged, in the late 1980s. Rhino deaths dropped dramatically and the Kaziranga we see today was in no small measure a result of their do-or-die determination.A stickler for the law, he was content to stay a Forest Ranger for decades, unwilling to trade forest life for a desk job in Guwahati. Still a field man, he is currently the Divisional Forest Officer in charge of the Nameri Tiger Reserve. Bittu Sahgal met him recently at Nameri and had to quite literally coerce this quiet, self-effacing man to speak about himself.
4 min |
February 2019
Sanctuary Asia
The Numbers Game
When a species begins to overwhelm its resource base, it is destined to go down. Having decided as a young woman of child-bearing age not to bring a child into this world, Purva Variyar asks whether Homo sapiens is headed down that road.
5 min |
February 2019
Sanctuary Asia
The Cranes Come Home Again To The Pangchen Valley!
The excitement in Degin Dorjee’s voice was palpable as he shared the news of the arrival of Black-necked Cranes at their wintering site along the Nyamjang Chhu river this winter.
3 min |
February 2019
Sanctuary Asia
Thanal
More than three decades ago, in 1986, a small group of nature enthusiasts based in the southern state of Kerala in India were inspired to share their love for nature by helping people to become more environmentally aware and pro-active.
4 min |
February 2019
Sanctuary Asia
Photography As Art
Across the world fine art is taking huge strides towards the goal of stimulating and influencing public opinion in favour of nature conservation. Shaaz Jung, a talented young Indian wildlife photographer, is a pioneer in this field, and he uses his wildlife photographs, enhanced by digital imagery, to augment their impact. In his view, this will bring in new pools of support from artists whose creativity could help turn the tide, by attracting hitherto untapped potential for the critical task of saving our vanishing wilds.
2 min |
February 2019
Down To Earth
No Worries? Ask Simba
A furore over Disney's trademark on the Swahili phrase Hakuna Matata heats up the cultural appropriation debate
2 min |
January 16, 2019
Down To Earth
Worshipped And Abandoned
The circular economy of cattle has been ruptured. Restrictions on cattle trade are forcing cattle rearers to abandon the cows, and therefore, their livelihood. Jitendra and photographer Adithyan P C travel across the cow belt in the country and neighbouring Nepal to understand how it has hit the poorest
10+ min |
January 16, 2019
Down To Earth
Try Some Salt, Fresh And Seasoned
Uttarakhand's age-old flavoured salts loaded with micronutrients are not only a healthy option, but can also tickle your taste buds
3 min |
January 16, 2019
Down To Earth
Reign Over Rain
Rainfall deficit can be a challenge as well as an opportunity. Last year, Dhanbad faced a rainfall deficit of 60 per cent. EKLAVYA PRASAD narrates his personal experience of catching rainwater where it falls in his home, Uttarayan. By constructing rainwater harvesting structures, Uttarayan not only showed the way to address urban water scarcity, it also helped recharge groundwater with 1.06 million litres of rainwater
4 min |
January 16, 2019
Down To Earth
Love's Labour
The traditional dishes that pregnant women eat for centuries
2 min |