Science
Down To Earth
Made Of Sand
India is importing river sand to satiate the growing demand of its construction industry and to keep soaring sand prices in check. But imports alone will not suffice without effective implementation of regulations and promotion of alternative construction materials. An analysis
10+ min |
June 16, 2018
Down To Earth
Spice Route
Found in high altitude forests, lichens are an important ingredient of almost all spice mixes of India
3 min |
June 16, 2018
Down To Earth
Evergreening Rampant In India
India's patent office has ignored the strict safeguards against evergreening and allowed a flood of secondary drug patents
3 min |
June 16, 2018
Down To Earth
For The Sake Of Oaks
Uttarakhand should use inflammable chirpines to generate power. This would contain forest fires that are threatening native oak trees and provide employment
4 min |
April 16, 2018
Down To Earth
The Chinese Patent Juggernaut
China has toppled Japan from No 2 spot and is set to become the leader in global patent filings, specially in future technologies
3 min |
April 16, 2018
Down To Earth
The Malthusian Muddle
In these times of climate change, the world needs fresh ideas to get out of the logjam over whether population is a curse or a resource
5 min |
April 16, 2018
Down To Earth
Tribunal On A Tightrope
Poor implementation of polluter pays principle and conflicts with the environment ministry risks the National Green Tribunal's effectiveness.
10+ min |
April 16, 2018
Down To Earth
Warned, Yet Unprepared
States prone to floods have failed to implement management schemes, finds a performance audit of CAG
6 min |
August 16, 2017
Down To Earth
The Net Result Of Bonn Is Lukewarm At Best
The recently-concluded COP delivered little considering what the world has witnessed in terms of climate-induced loss in 2017
6 min |
December 01, 2017
Down To Earth
Drilling To Extinction
Unregulated large-scale mining activities have decimated plant and wildlife populations in the once-rich Saranda forest in Jharkhand
3 min |
December 01, 2017
Down To Earth
Employed But Poor
Poverty among employed people underscores the need for a new strategy on job creation
2 min |
December 01, 2017
Down To Earth
Under Mysterious Threat
About 100 children in Odisha's tribal district of Malkangiri have died of viral encephalitis in the past two months. Is the state emerging as another hotbed of acute encephalitis syndrome?
5 min |
November 16, 2016
Down To Earth
Emerging Pollution Capitals of India
As Delhi chokes on bad air, other cities are not far behind
5 min |
November 16, 2016
Down To Earth
Route To Resilience
A new study suggests that herbivores can protect ecosystems from climate change.
4 min |
February 01, 2018
Down To Earth
Cameroon Turns Hazard Into Convenience
Cameroon is fighting against floods by recycling plastic waste into building blocks.
4 min |
February 01, 2018
Down To Earth
Unmasking The Budget
The last full budget presented by Arun Jaitley was overwhelmingly focused on pro-people initiatives and the finance minister spent the initial 20 minutes of his speech on agriculture. The second most important part of his speech was public health. Jaitley was also eager to underline the achievements of his government ahead of next year's general elections and highlighted programmes like Ujjwala Yojana, Saubhagya Yojana, implementation of GST and improved ranking in ease of doing business. However, the government neglected a number of issues like climate change and its flagship programme Swachh Bharat Mission.
4 min |
February 16, 2018
Down To Earth
It's A Sham
People's participation in formulation of India's annual budget is virtually negligible.
4 min |
February 16, 2018
Down To Earth
Stimulus That Can Spoil The Milk Sector
Karnataka government's financial stimulus to its dairy cooperative is benefitting 2.5 million farmers, but can destabilise the national market.
4 min |
February 16, 2018
Down To Earth
Aid The Trade
While it will not be in anyone's interest to cut off foreign aid to Africa, it is clear that countries that receive such aid must show more responsibility.
4 min |
February 16, 2018
Down To Earth
Resetting The Africa-Europe Relationship
Africa faces a broad range of development challenges and overcoming them will require huge sums of foreign aid and investment. But as Africa develops, its people will also need partners who recognise that there are mutual benefits to engaging with the continent's mobile and highly-educated base of human capital.
3 min |
February 16, 2018
Down To Earth
Superficial Embrace?
Sikkim government legalises the tradition of adopting trees, but remains silent over people's rights over them.
3 min |
February 16, 2018
Down To Earth
We Let Them Die
Failure of states to provide basic nutrition and health facilities has led to the death of hundreds of children from the preventable acute encephalopathy syndrome. BANJOT KAUR from Bihar and SHAGUN KAPIL from Uttar Pradesh report
10 min |
July 16, 2019
Down To Earth
Importance Of Nothing
IT IS NEITHER A LUXURY NOR A WASTE OF TIME, BUT A NECESSARY PART OF MEANINGFUL THOUGHT AND SPEECH
4 min |
July 16, 2019
Down To Earth
Why Did My Children Die?
BY THE time doctors landed in our village for the first time, our village had already lost 11 children to chamki (a yet-unknown type of acute encephalopathy syndrome) fever.
2 min |
July 16, 2019
Down To Earth
Done By The Daily Fix
In the absence of guidelines, organic waste management in Indian cities is at the mercy of entrepreneurs offering instant solutions
6 min |
July 16, 2019
Down To Earth
Wings Of Change
SOME OF THE WORLD’S RAREST BIRDS ARE FOUND IN THE EASTERN HIMALAYAS. BUT A LOT OF FACTORS ARE PUTTING THEIR SURVIVAL AT RISK DEEPANWITA GITA NIYOGI
3 min |
July 16, 2019
Down To Earth
The Science Of Dishonesty
FALSIFICATION, FABRICATION AND PLAGIARISM OF RESEARCH HAVE FAR-REACHING CONSEQUENCES LAKSHMY RAMAKRISHNAN
3 min |
July 16, 2019
Down To Earth
Labelled Rabid
Most rabies deaths occur in India. Yet, the government is dragging its feet over controlling dog population, vaccinating them or even making enough shots available for victims
4 min |
August 01, 2018
Down To Earth
How To Fight Water Scarcity This Monsoon?
Though the monsoon is behaving erratically, drought-prone districts are still water rich
2 min |
August 01, 2018
Down To Earth
Curbing Patent Monopolies
The competition law is being used against drug patent holders to ensure they don't abuse their market power
2 min |