Science
Down To Earth
Illusive oilseed
Without the Centre's push, niger seed might vanish from the tribal food plate in near future
5 min |
August 16, 2022
Down To Earth
Sequence for a just future
Without a robust regulatory framework, digital genomic data will not allow benefits from biological resources to reach communities
3 min |
August 16, 2022
Down To Earth
Acquired shortage
India's HIV drug shortage is real and could have been averted
7 min |
August 16, 2022
Down To Earth
Imposed choice
Rise in hysterectomies among younger women and at private hospitals signals imminent public health crisis
3 min |
August 16, 2022
Down To Earth
TAKING OWNERSHIP
There is a surge in demand by forest communities to not only access the resources of their habitat, but also to establish their ownership over forests. They are doing so by wielding a previously underused provision of the Forest Rights Act. The forest department, however, is reluctant to let go of its control. SHUCHITA JHA and ZUMBISH travel across Odisha and Chhattisgarh to understand how communities have gained through this law and the mechanisms they are setting up to ensure sustainable use of forest resources PARTY
10+ min |
August 16, 2022
Down To Earth
Is The Covid-19 Vaccine Story Over?
India claims vaccines are no longer an issue in the battle against COVID-19, but a host of developing nations would disagree
4 min |
August 01, 2022
Down To Earth
The invisible bhadralok
FIELD NOTES FROM A WATERBORNE LAND SHEDS LIGHT ON THE LIVES OF THOSE BENGALIS WHO BARELY EXIST FOR THE OUTSIDE WORLD
3 min |
August 01, 2022
Down To Earth
Dry beginning
June is becoming drier and this is delaying the sowing of the kharif season
4 min |
August 01, 2022
Down To Earth
Not close enough
Human milk banks are important for infants who do not have access to mother's milk. But India is yet to see large-scale rollout of such centres
4 min |
August 01, 2022
Down To Earth
Spark of hope
India needs to reform panchayati raj institutions, reserve seats in Parliament and legislative assemblies to create more women leaders like the new President Droupadi Murmu
9 min |
August 01, 2022
Down To Earth
FIX FROM GROUND UP
Prepare business strategies for districts and leverage existing government schemes to make India a global economic powerhouse
3 min |
August 01, 2022
Down To Earth
'We can soon study stars that formed during the Big Bang'
THE JAMES WEBB SPACE TELESCOPE AMAZED THE WORLD ON JULY 12 WITH ITS FIRST IMAGES OF THE UNIVERSE. ASTROPHYSICIST JESSY JOSE OF THE INDIAN INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE EDUCATION AND RESEARCH, TIRUPATI, WILL SOON USE THE LARGEST AND MOST POWERFUL TELESCOPE IN THE WORLD TO STUDY THE EARLY STAGES OF STARS. SHE TELLS ROHINI KRISHNAMURTHY WHAT MAKES THIS DEEPSPACE VIEWING TOOL ONE OF A KIND
3 min |
August 01, 2022
Down To Earth
Bridging gaps
A farmer-producer organisation in Dantewada provides crucial market links for organic produce and helps naturally improve yields and incomes
5 min |
August 01, 2022
Down To Earth
Clear signs
The repercussions of a 1.5°C global temperature rise would be catastrophic for India. Ladakh could grow 2.23°C warmer than pre-industrial levels; Rajasthan could receive 23 per cent more rainfall AKSHIT SANGOMLA and PULAHA ROY New Delhi
4 min |
August 01, 2022
Down To Earth
KILL TO CONSERVE
Sustainable use of wildlife is the best approach to conservation in the long run. This is the latest scientific assessment by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). Optimal exploitation of wild flora and fauna will ensure that livelihood and dietary needs of humans are met without threatening survival of the species. But do countries have the capacity to ensure sustainable use, and to make sure the benefits reach local communities? An analysis by SHUCHITA JHA, HIMANSHU NITNAWARE and VIBHA VARSHNEY in New Delhi with ABSALOM SHIGWEDHA in Namibia, CYRIL ZENDA in Zimbabwe, PETER ELIAS in Tanzania and CHRISTOPHE HITAYEZU in Rwanda
10+ min |
August 01, 2022
Down To Earth
Water diviner
Sarjubai Meena is resolute in her mission to conserve soil and water in Rajasthan's Bhilwara district BHAGIRATH
2 min |
July 16, 2022
Down To Earth
‘Never thought I’d see octopus change colour in front of me, at Juhu beach’
A journalist and editor, SEJAL MEHTA has for the last four years walked the shores across India looking for creatures in intertidal zones—spaces explorable upon the retrieval of high tides. By virtue of traversing the sea as well the shores, the life forms found in intertidal spaces are blessed with features that appear otherworldly. In an interview with PREETHA BANERJEE, Mehta talks about her walks and the sightings that resulted in her book Superpowers on the Shore. Excerpts:
5 min |
July 16, 2022
Down To Earth
OLD DIVIDE PERSISTS
The Bonn conference was important for laying the groundwork for global climate action. But it underscored progressive dilution of climate justice
4 min |
July 16, 2022
Down To Earth
Only a piglet in Russia's war on patents
Post-Ukraine, Russia has held back from appropriating intellectual property despite a law to punish unfriendly countries
4 min |
July 16, 2022
Down To Earth
Double trouble
The Union government's claim about being on track to double farmers' income sounds hollow as it has not even spent the allocated budget for agrarian schemes in three of the past five years
6 min |
July 16, 2022
Down To Earth
NOT JUST ANOTHER DELUGE
In a warming world, floods are no longer an annual affair in Assam, but a year-round crisis. As people struggle to cope with the new reality, some are already changing their cropping patterns and architecture
10+ min |
July 16, 2022
Down To Earth
Sage advice
Plant clinics are emerging as parallel support system for farmers in resource-strapped countries
3 min |
July 16, 2022
Down To Earth
Forests in seconds
Miyawaki forests are springing up across Indian cities. Are they a way to restore urban biodiversity or just a quick-fix to achieve greenery?
6 min |
July 16, 2022
Down To Earth
Burden to bear
Living in the shadow of old state policies, vulnerable tribal groups demand their right to opt for family planning
3 min |
July 16, 2022
Down To Earth
An Indian epidemic
Increasing number of children and adolescents in the country are developing diabetes. This will have lethal consequences
5 min |
July 16, 2022
Down To Earth
World Environment Day Special : Democratise Thermal Comfort
45 In cities vulnerable to heat, thermal comfort is crucial to one's health, well-being and productivity. Building wisely can not only ensure it for all, but also decarbonise the built environment to help mitigate global warming. An analysis by Mitashi Singh, Sugeet Grover, Rajneesh Sareen And Anumita Roychowdhury
10+ min |
June 16, 2022
Down To Earth
THE HUNT IN MUDUMALAI
The 2021 capture of a male tiger in the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve was a high-stakes mission. The missteps made in this operation provide many lessons on wildlife management
5 min |
June 16, 2022
Down To Earth
Elephant whisperers
Chhattisgarh forest department has trained an army of people to spread awareness about elephant behaviour, avert conflicts with them
2 min |
June 16, 2022
Down To Earth
Trial by fire
E-scooter fires a wake-up call for India's electric vehicle strategy
5 min |
June 16, 2022
Down To Earth
POX RETURNS
Monkeypox spreads to new geographies as the world experiences its worst ever outbreak of the zoonotic disease
6 min |