The finance minister's targets for restructuring -- lower fiscal deficit, stronger economic recovery and higher exports -- form the core of his latest budget.

The entry of large business houses into the Sundarbans is not only jeopardising the interests of local fisherfolk, but also causing major ecological damage

The Damodar is the most polluted river in the country today, thanks to the several industries that have sprouted on its mineral-rich banks. Experts say the only way to save the Damodar valley is for these highly polluting industries to make massive investments in clean-up technologies or to switch to a new generation of cleaner technologies, but the industrialists exploiting the area's resources are not willing to make the change.

Whether it's increasing yields, cutting growth time of plants, increasing their resistance to disease or preserving genetic resources, scientists say tissue culture could be an important answer to farmers' prayers. Small wonder then that industry, with its nose for profits, is making a beeline for the technology. Unfortunately, the links between the researcher and the entrepreneur are weak India.

India is one of the few developing countries to have its own space satellite systems. And, now Indian planners are depending increasingly on remote sensing for resource mapping and the monitoring of natural disasters

Controversy has dogged the Konkan railway project since its inception. Today, many influential Goans are up in arms against the present alignment of the track, which, they allege, would wreck the state's environment. Railway officials, of course, disagree. Down To Earth examines the pros and cons of the case.

The story of the Ganges, from her source to the sea, from old times to new, is the story of India's civilisation ..." - Jawaharlal Nehru

The ecology of the already shrinking Chilika lake is further threatened by the scramble among fisherfolk, farmers and traders to grabe their share of the depleting stock of fish and prawn.Meanwhile the state government too, oblivious of the lake's deterioration, also wants to exploit the prawns commercially.

Decline in supplies has badly affected many traditional crafts. Woodcarving in Saharanpur is one of them. Despite a revitalised export market, the craft that had begun as a sustainable proffession is dying a slow death

It was from the port towns of this region that Arab dhows laden with merchandise set sail for distant towns in the days of yore. Today, these towns lie deserted -- an eloquent comment on the ecological devastation that has visited the Indus delta. What went wrong?