Science
Down To Earth
Organic reinforcement
Direct procurement and cold storages are key to promote organic farming of fruits, vegetables
5 min |
October 16, 2022
Down To Earth
A timely fix
India’s lone home-grown crop simulation model can now forecast climate impact on farm yield in real time
4 min |
October 16, 2022
Down To Earth
Accelerated breeding
Bisohenol A, a chemical used for softening plastics, shortens the mosquito life cycle and leads to population explosion
3 min |
October 16, 2022
Down To Earth
India patently way behind on 5G
Policy blocks and poor vision have held up 5G in India, while China’s breakthroughs are helping to set global standards
4 min |
October 16, 2022
Down To Earth
Evolutionary Thrust
HUMAN EVOLUTION
7 min |
October 16, 2022
Down To Earth
PANDEMIC CONTINUUM
Two livestock viruses have spread across India in an unprecedented manner this year—lumpy skin disease and African swine fever. With changing climate, new infectious diseases will emerge, while existing ones will Ne spread to new areas and sirike with greater severity, like these two have. Such outbreaks have harsh economic and food security implications, and can pose a major threat to human health. The world has not recovered from the previous virus that jumped from animals to humans. A report by SHAGUN from the worst-hit state of Rajasthan and SNIGDHA DAS in Delhi
10+ min |
October 16, 2022
Down To Earth
Cultivated idea
The potential of urban agriculture in alleviating food insecurity in cities requires holistic policy support from governments
3 min |
October 16, 2022
Down To Earth
Collateral casualty
Rise in cardiac ailments in India hints at the role of COVID-19, but in absence of long-term studies there are no definitive trends
6 min |
October 16, 2022
Down To Earth
Chronic floods threaten Niger delta
THE COMMUNITIES living in the oil-rich Niger Delta have been devastated by recurring floods. The lack of effort to safeguard these communities or help them adapt to the changing weather conditions has left people vulnerable and helpless.
1 min |
October 16, 2022
Down To Earth
Africa's clarion call for climate justice
IT WAS highly symbolic that Gabon, which commits to remain carbon neutral up to and beyond 2050, hosted the Africa Climate Week, the last major talks before the 27th Conference of the Parties (COP27) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change is held in Egypt this November to implement the Paris Agreement.
1 min |
September 16, 2022
Down To Earth
Strong start
With free tuition and access to sanitary pads, a non-profit in Prayagraj provides children in low-income areas a chance to complete their education
2 min |
September 16, 2022
Down To Earth
Crowdfunding - Fund At Your Own Risk
Crowdfunding has emerged as a popular option in India to help people avail expensive medical treatments. But in the absence of regulation, donors are vulnerable to fraudulent campaigns
3 min |
September 16, 2022
Down To Earth
Millet might
Odisha's mission to bring millets back to its fields and plates can succeed with greater marketing support and promotion beyond tribal areas
5 min |
September 16, 2022
Down To Earth
Invisibilisation of Dalit scholars
A PERSON READING CASTE AND PARTITION IN BENGAL: THE STORY OF DALIT REFUGEES, 1946-1961 WOULD THINK THAT DALITS HAVE NEVER DONE A CASTE ANALYSIS OF PARTITION, WHICH IS ABSOLUTELY UNTRUE
3 min |
September 16, 2022
Down To Earth
OZONE ON FIRE
Frequent, widespread forest fires in a warming world are the new threats to the ozone layer
3 min |
September 16, 2022
Down To Earth
Moderna strikes with a new lawsuit
Moderna is trying to be gatekeeper for the mRNA platform for future drug development, raising monopolistic fears
4 min |
September 16, 2022
Down To Earth
PERILS IN A DEFINITION
The country's Supreme Court is tasked with deciding whether political parties should be restricted from promising freebies in election campaigns and manifestos. But the debate is not so simple
10 min |
September 16, 2022
Down To Earth
Planetary summer
Prolonged droughts and heat waves are wreaking havoc across continents. Europe may have reached the point of no return
10 min |
September 16, 2022
Down To Earth
Cost of credit
Information accessed by Down To Earth under the Right To Information Act belies the government's claim that banks give farm loans without any service charge or mortgaging farmer's land
5 min |
September 16, 2022
Down To Earth
HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT
The plastic problem needs to be reframed. The issue is not just how plastic waste is disposed of, but also how the material enters the supply chain and for whose benefit. India cannot end plastic pollution until it holds the petrochemical behemoths and the plastic industry accountable for manufacturing the menace
10+ min |
September 01, 2022
Down To Earth
A Covid-19 Encore With Monkeypox
A familiar pattern is emerging in the battle against monkeypox with the US and Europe grabbing scarce vaccine supplies
4 min |
September 01, 2022
Down To Earth
Freedom fuel
Pune entrepreneur experiments with cooking devices powered by solar and biomass to beat rising LPG prices
2 min |
September 01, 2022
Down To Earth
All zeros and ones
The ability to capture, store and model data is fuelling the technologies associated with the fourth industrial revolution, which many believe will lead to a future owned by corporations
9 min |
September 01, 2022
Down To Earth
A question of sales
Natural farming practices have drastically reduced input costs, but Himachal Pradesh's farmers still lack market access
5 min |
September 01, 2022
Down To Earth
Capital owners
PROPERTIES OF RENT IS ABOUT THE TENSION BETWEEN RAPIDLY CHANGING ECONOMIC REALITIES AND THE PARALLEL ATTEMPTS BY COMMUNITIES TO HOLD ON TO KINSHIP ASSOCIATIONS, AS WELL AS TRADITIONAL NOTIONS OF RESPECT AND HONOUR
5 min |
September 01, 2022
Down To Earth
RESTRICTED IN GIR
Despite ample scientific evidence and a Supreme Court order to translocate lions from Gir forest of Gujarat to Madhya Pradesh's Kuno National Park, the shift to establish a second wild population has not happened
4 min |
September 01, 2022
Down To Earth
Churn under sea
SEAFLOOR SPREADING, CAUSED BY AN UPWELLING OF MAGMA, HAS LED TO EPISODES OF GLOBAL WARMING IN THE GEOLOGIC PAST. THE SPREAD RATE HAS SLOWED DOWN IN LAST 19 MILLION YEARS, BUT COULD GATHER MOMENTUM
5 min |
September 01, 2022
Down To Earth
Model shift
Farmers in Zimbabwe are shifting from rain-fed to irrigation-based agriculture to beat erratic rains in a rapidly changing climate
3 min |
September 01, 2022
Down To Earth
Does Rajasthan's Wage Employment Scheme Tick All The Boxes?
Rajasthan's attempt to provide income security to urban poor shows challenges of designing a wage guarantee scheme for towns and cities
6 min |
August 16, 2022
Down To Earth
Dry monsoon for east, northeast
EAST AND northeast India may continue to see a deficit of rainfall in August and September this monsoon season, as per the recent analysis by the India Meteorlogical Department (IMD). Most parts of the regions have been receiving below normal rainfall since June. July rainfall, 44.7 per cent less than normal, was the lowest in 122 years, says IMD.
1 min |