Science
Down To Earth
The fossilised ICAR needs to be shaken up
India’s vast agricultural research network has made no breakthroughs as crop yields drop and imports soar, especially in oilseeds
4 min |
June 01, 2026
Down To Earth
Reimagine renewable expansion in the Thar
This refers to the article, \"Unwanted barter” (1-15 March, 2026).
2 min |
June 01, 2026
Down To Earth
Harvest of heritage
India's wealth of traditional seeds hold the key to its nutritional security amid a changing climate. Yet comprehensive data on these seeds remain scarce VIBHA VARSHNEY reports from KORAPUT, ODISHA and DHARWAD, KARNATAKA
7 min |
June 01, 2026
Down To Earth
TIGERS, CATTLE AND LANTANA
The story of tigers, cattle and lantana is not a feel-good conservation tale. It is a warning wrapped in ecological ingenuity
5 min |
June 01, 2026
Down To Earth
Fruitful cashews
Farmers and scientists across southern India promote the use of nutrient-rich yet underused cashew apples by developing a zero-additive juice that creates an additional source of income
2 min |
June 01, 2026
Down To Earth
No feather in the cap
NO TO a Switzerland with 10 million! (Sustainability Initiative).” On June 14, when Switzerland votes in the referendum, it will be the world’s first attempt to cap a country’s population at a specific level.
2 min |
June 01, 2026
Down To Earth
FARM-SIDE SLAY
India's agriculture sector is no longer remunerative, and there is no support from the government to make it so
3 min |
June 01, 2026
Down To Earth
RETHINKING CONSERVATION
Tiger numbers have seen a healthy rise in India over the past couple of decades. But the surge in the tiger population has been accompanied by an increase in cases of infighting, poaching and attacks on humans, which suggest that the animal is cramped for space and venturing out of reserves in search of food. Managing the species now requires a complete reimagining of the way tiger conservation is practised in India, reports HIMANSHU NITNAWARE
10+ min |
June 01, 2026
Down To Earth
Ganga runs polluted
Uttarakhand's river-cleaning efforts face scrutiny as audit reveals untreated sewage discharge and incomplete infrastructure
3 min |
June 01, 2026
Down To Earth
The new environmentalism
EACH YEAR, when the UN-designated World Environment Day is observed on June 5, it is a moment to reflect on where we stand and where we must head.
3 min |
June 01, 2026
Down To Earth
When bonds break
Study of a rare split in Uganda's largest chimpanzee group suggests conflict can emerge from fractured social ties, even without ideology or identity divides
4 min |
June 01, 2026
Down To Earth
CONSERVED BY COMMUNITY
How a desire to make snow leopard tourism sustainable helped a small Ladakhi settlement became the region's first Community Conserved Area
4 min |
May 16, 2026
Down To Earth
An 'open' and 'shut' case of Al's risky trajectory
Elon Musk's lawsuit against Sam Altman, OpenAl, Microsoft is crucially about open-source versus closed technology for corporate profit
4 min |
May 16, 2026
Down To Earth
Burden of transition
Clean energy transition is once again shifting environmental, human costs to the Global South, finds a UN university investigation
4 min |
May 16, 2026
Down To Earth
One step closer
India attains criticality in fast breeder reactor technology, reaching the second stage of the country's three- stage nuclear programme towards energy security
4 min |
May 16, 2026
Down To Earth
ZESTY SEEDS
Coriander seeds are a traditional antidote to summer heat
3 min |
May 16, 2026
Down To Earth
Sahyadri gets a bird village
Residents of Maharashtra's Pisavare village have embarked on a mission to protect birds in their vicinity through simple practices such as documenting species and building nests
2 min |
May 16, 2026
Down To Earth
CONFLICT IN THE BACKYARD
Across India, farmers are abandoning their fields as conflict with wild and stray animals intensifies. Conservation policy must move beyond protection alone to restore a workable coexistence between people and animals.
10+ min |
May 16, 2026
Down To Earth
Capital punishment
Adequate compensation and proper rehabilitation remain a mirage for many displaced by the construction of Chhattisgarh's new capital, Nava Raipur, even two decades after the project began
3 min |
May 16, 2026
Down To Earth
Migrant workers are assets
MIGRATION HAS turned into a potent tool of political warfare across the world. For over a decade, domestic electoral politics across regions, from Europe and North America to Asia and Africa, have fuelled anti-immigration sentiments. This is also increasingly fuelling anti-immigrant vigilantism, as seen widely across Europe in 2015-16, coinciding with the refugee crisis.
2 min |
May 16, 2026
Down To Earth
Petri dish to plate
Synthetic meat production has seen a rise globally, even as environmental benefits of growing foods in laboratory remain debatable
10 min |
May 16, 2026
Down To Earth
PULSE POWER
Legumes offer India a way to cut fertiliser use and import dependence. This requires incentivising farmers through carbon credits and payments for the ecosystem services the crops provide
3 min |
May 16, 2026
Down To Earth
TOWARDS POST-FOSSIL ERA
Does UAE offer a survival template for oil-producing countries in a world shunning the fossils?
3 min |
May 16, 2026
Down To Earth
GEN Z ENTERS THE BOOTH
Five verdicts reveal a generation voting beyond inherited loyalties
4 min |
May 16, 2026
Down To Earth
Between coal, chaos and green power
IT IS a time of great energy disruption.
3 min |
May 16, 2026
Down To Earth
Growing malaise
India's disease burden has doubled in three decades, with heart diseases and lifestyle disorders now afflicting people at much younger ages
5 min |
May 16, 2026
Down To Earth
A taste of the terrain
A COOKBOOK OF KARGILI DISHES, A COFFEE-TABLE BOOK OF INTIMATE PORTRAITS, OR A BOOK OF ANECDOTES FROM ACROSS THE REGION—STORIES FROM A KARGILI KITCHEN OFFERS SOMETHING TO EVERY KIND OF READER
4 min |
May 01, 2026
Down To Earth
A fixation on the past that's stunting Indian science
Forcing premier technology institutes to do research on ancient wisdom is fostering fraudulent science and retarding development
4 min |
May 01, 2026
Down To Earth
WEAK MONSOON AHEAD?
India may see below normal rainfall in the upcoming southwest monsoon, with immediate impacts for farmers
2 min |
May 01, 2026
Down To Earth
POVERTY'S OWN REPUBLIC
India's geography of poverty does not change. To be born here means to be poor forever
10+ min |