Science
Down To Earth
No More Horsing Around
Glanders, a bacterial, zoonotic disease that affects equines and is a potential biological weapon, has been breaking out regularly across India since 2006. Should India be worried? RAJAT GHAI | New Delhi
4 min |
October 16, 2017
Down To Earth
Is Activism The Cure?
As prices of life-saving drugs skyrocket, people from diverse fields are getting together to fight Big Pharma
2 min |
October 16, 2018
Down To Earth
Pitfalls Outweigh Potential
Government is pushing for biofuel production to reduce crude import bill. Can it steer clear of the food versus fuel dilemma?
4 min |
October 16, 2018
Down To Earth
Unholy Chase
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made cleaning of the Ganga again a high priority national agenda. He had the advantage of learning from the failures of the past 30 years in cleaning the national river. And he had the missionary zeal to proclaim a deadline for doing so. A year before his promise of a clean Ganga in 2019, the river is far from being so. In many stretches it is dirtier than before. An analysis by BANJOT KAUR on why the river will remain polluted despite river-friendly budgets and politically correct rhetoric
10+ min |
October 16, 2018
Down To Earth
The Wake Up Call
THE UNITED Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) consists of scientists who can by no stretch of the imagination be called radical or activists.
4 min |
October 16, 2018
Down To Earth
A Contentious Solicitation
India's most ambitious health insurance scheme, Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana, is definitely a lure. Millions of Indians bleed to pay their ever-increasing medical expenses in private healthcare and end up becoming even poorer. Experiences of public-funded health insurance schemes in the last decade show that these initiatives have not been effective as they are not supported by the proportionate creation of public health systems. India simply doesn't have enough well-equipped public health infrastructure. So what does this new scheme mean for millions of poor and sick people? KUNDAN PANDEY travels to Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Telangana and Kerala to understand what the new scheme needs to be cautious about.
10+ min |
September 16, 2018
Down To Earth
Dormant Breakthrough
Scientists are working on induced human hibernation, as seen naturally in animals, to treat a range of diseases
4 min |
January 01, 2019
Down To Earth
Fault Lines In Expressway
Construction of Char Dham national highway has cost Uttarakhand its ecological balance, as ISHAN KUKRETI discovers in his 250 km travel through the devasted terrain
6 min |
January 01, 2019
Down To Earth
Politicisation Of Rights
What impedes the Forest Rights Act, 2006, from being implemented in the Sundarban Biosphere Reserve in West Bengal?
4 min |
January 01, 2019
Down To Earth
`Capital Lies With A Few, Power With The Masses'
Soon after Independence, a good 350 newspapers started as a cooperative venture. But only Janmorcha, published from Faizabad in Uttar Pradesh, has managed to survive. Its editor SHEETLA SINGH fearlessly wages a battle against the government which has made five attempts to shut the newspaper down. ANIL ASHWANI SHARMA spoke to the 87-year-old sentinel of cooperative journalism about the perils of newspaper publishing in the country
3 min |
January 16, 2019
Down To Earth
Jamdani, Naturally
How the women of Burdwan and Nadia districts in West Bengal weave magic, turning raw cotton into niche and `climate-friendly' Jamdani
6 min |
January 16, 2019
Down To Earth
Agenda For 2019
The governance blueprint to combat major environmental problems must be institutionalised and strictly enforced
2 min |
January 16, 2019
Down To Earth
Love's Labour
The traditional dishes that pregnant women eat for centuries
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
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
Unfair Trade Laws Can Put A Spanner In Our Quest For A Circular Economy
USED Recycle and reuse of products make great economic and environmental sense. But will circular economy benefit the world at a time when economic giants like the US are using trade sanctions to bully Rwanda, which has banned used clothing? India too is at the risk of becoming the rich world's dumpyard
8 min |
June 16, 2019
Down To Earth
Africa's Historic Pivot
IF RWANDA IS WILLING TO RISK PREFERENTIAL ACCESS TO THE US MARKET IN ORDER TO DEVELOP ITS DOMESTIC GARMENT INDUSTRY, THEN IT MUST BE CONFIDENT THAT IT WILL FIND ALTERNATIVE MARKETS FOR ITS EXPORTS
4 min |
June 16, 2019
Down To Earth
Goa's Summer Date
THE EXOTIC FLOWER OF THE ELEPHANT FOOT YAM IS EATEN WIDELY IN THE RURAL PARTS OF THE STATE FOR A FEW DAYS BEFORE THE ADVENT OF MONSOON
3 min |
June 16, 2019
Down To Earth
Renaming Renewables
Will a new categorisation of hydropower plants trigger revival of the sector?
5 min |
June 16, 2019
Down To Earth
Untapped Resource
CIRCULAR ECONOMY IN INDIA HAS GROWN IN THE PAST COUPLE OF YEARS, BUT THE POTENTIAL OF THE SECTOR REMAINS UNREALISED
6 min |
June 16, 2019
Down To Earth
Wrong Track
In the wake of IMD's warning over Titli, Odisha mobilised resources to protect coastal districts. But the cyclonic storm took an unusual turn
3 min |
November 01, 2018
Down To Earth
Aarey's Chipko Moment
The plan to clear Mumbai's last green cover is facing stiff resistance from citizens and non-profits
3 min |
November 01, 2018
Down To Earth
Egg Of The Matter
Entepreneurs are experimenting with hen feed to produce premium eggs that appeal to fitness freaks
4 min |
November 01, 2018
Down To Earth
Pride Goes Before A Fall
Could Gujarat's forest officials have inadvertently triggered the death of 23 lions in Gir National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary? ISHAN KUKRETI in Gujarat and RAJAT GHAI in Delhi investigate
10+ min |
November 01, 2018
Down To Earth
The Others Too
The MeToo campaign comes at a time when women are being courted for electoral gains. Is it good or bad?
2 min |
November 01, 2018
Down To Earth
Goa's Shadow Dancer
Dragonflies tell us about the health of our wetlands and ecology. Hence the discovery of a new species is heartening news
5 min |
November 01, 2018
Down To Earth
Highway Killer
Leopards in the Rajaji National Park have killed over a dozen people in the past year. Why is the big cat choosing humans over its natural prey?
4 min |
July 1, 2017
Down To Earth
Why Farmers Now Dread A Normal Monsoon
No major agrarian reform has happened in the 50 years since the Green Revolution. A normal monsoon cannot be assumed as the only incentive for farmers to sustain productivity. It's time India offered its food producers a new deal
5 min |
July 1, 2017
Down To Earth
Bumper Burden
Madhya Pradesh witnesses farmer unrest like never before despite a bumper harvest
3 min |
July 1, 2017
Down To Earth
Harvest Of Losses
Will the loan waiver announced by the Maharashtra government help alleviate farmers' plight?
6 min |