As told to Parliament (December 15, 2021): Mobile network connectivity in over 95% villages

All that was discussed in the House through the day

Plant protection authority sets right its potato blunder

A public campaign forced it to revoke registration of PepsiCo’s potato variety, but the agency needs to reset its priorities

Moving African rhinos: What it takes to translocate an endangered species

Addressing security issues remains paramount as it can undermine all the best introductions

Zero the way to go

Great change for Little Rann: Finance for solar panels and the road ahead

Salt farmers cannot apply for bank loans to buy pumps and subsidies promised are delayed

The warning lights are on for malaria medicines in Africa

Sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine, an alternative drug, was also showing signs of failure

Tornadoes and climate change: What a warming world means for deadly twisters and the type of storms that spawn them

To answer whether climate change influenced likelihood of tornadoes in the December 2021 outbreak, it remains difficult to attribute any single event like this one to climate change

Mainstreaming climate resilience through MGNREGS: Learning from Tamil Nadu’s Tiruvannamalai

The district set a record for creating 1,121 farm ponds in 30 days in September 2021, in line with the recently launched state climate mission

Bonded labour, child labour: Manual scavenging in India far from being eradicated

More than 90% manual scavengers were never recorded through the PEMSR Act

Stop patronising the adivasis, Mr PM; they need dignity, not charity

The government needs to recognise that forest laws need to be flexible enough to accommodate and invite collective participations of local stakeholders within an overarching, supportive state setup

Sanitary napkins: Why biodegradable is not the same as compostable

Sanitary napkins labelled biodegradable may degrade in years, but they are not compostable

Radioactive pollution in water: A global concern for human health

Radioactive contamination is more prevalent in groundwater than surface water

Indigenous lands have less deforestation than state-managed protected areas in most of tropics

Roughly 15 per cent of the world’s land surface is under official state protection

French Revolution, Arab Springs and food price due to climate change

Loss in food production increases prices; that, in turn, influences people’s food intake and fuels conflicts  

Are you interested in the weather and its impact on nature? Here’s a career for you

Biometeorology is highly interdisciplinary and involves working with several different types of professionals

World Human Rights Day: Is an India free of witch-hunts possible

Cases of witch-branding have been reported from 12 states in India; some 2,300 ‘witches’ were murdered between 1999 and 2003

A new report shows worrying growth of the diabetes pandemic

One in 10 adults worldwide — 537 million people — now live with diabetes

Draft extended producer responsibility policy: How gaps in achieving fundamental goals can be closed

The draft incorporates important objectives but leaves out some fundamental ones

Limiting antibiotics use in crops: What new actions did the government take

There were growing concerns over resistance to streptomycin and tetracycline antibiotics

Storm surges and relief: Why India should rethink its cyclone response

There is more to cyclone risk management than the total number of evacuees

Task force, flying squads are fine, but what does Delhi’s air really need

A large number of industries in the National Capital Region still operate on dirty fuel; their emissions pollute Delhi air