Ujjwala in southern Rajasthan: A cylinder half full

The scheme must be evolved so it is not just aimed at providing connections but ensuring its positive effect on health, clean energy access, gender disparity and rural community

Feminist solutions to man-made economic inequality

Our economies are built on millions of hours of unpaid labour carried out every day by women; freeing up women's time would go a long way towards tackling economic and gender inequality

Decolonising the ‘idea of the farmer’ through the eyes of Munshi Premchand

A critical analysis of the Hindi author’s stories can help policymakers empathically tear into the cobweb that has the Indian farmer trapped at the intersection of poverty, migration, deprivation, and despair

Solar and its challenges in India

India needs a more comprehensive approach in order to achieve the target of 100 GW by 2022

World Earth Day: Nine ways to keep the planet safe

Green practices you can adopt to reduce waste, conserve resources, improve air and water quality and protect ecosystems

Why the International Solar Alliance is geopolitically significant

Trans-regional solar energy cooperation can pave the way for equability and a just energy order in the international arena

Sea erosion affecting lives and livelihoods in Odisha

The central government informed Parliament in December 2018 that sea levels along the Indian coast are projected to rise from 3.5 inches to as much as 34 inches by the end of the century due to global warming

Democratic choice held hostage to cash: A tale of Odisha's urban poor

Though political parties deny such claims and these “incidents” often go unnoticed, the truth is that the poor consider elections to be the time to make some “extra cash”

India’s wildlife needs its people’s empathy, not just sympathy

The trend of shooting animals declared as ‘man eaters’ is taking a toll on our wildlife, our precious natural heritage

Doha Model shows how to rein in water for irrigation

In spite of its challenges, digging of streams and creation of pond-like structures along their length can provide farmers with the much needed source of irrigation

'Village forests have been pitted against community rights'

The proposed amendment of IFA is an attempt to keep power in the hands of the forest bureaucracy by playing up village forests against community forest rights currently exercised by gram sabhas

All that crap: How can faecal sludge be reused

If more people in India’s rural areas are building septic tanks, there must be effective ways of managing faecal sludge. Here are some ways to utilise it

Recycling of e-waste in India and its potential

Since India is highly deficient in precious mineral resources while untreated e-waste goes to landfill, there is need for a well designed, regulated e-waste recovery regime which would generate jobs as well as wealth

Rise of the machines: Why India need not be afraid

Artificial intelligence, robotisation and automation would open avenues for new jobs rather than generating job losses

New ruse in Big Pharma's old game

Drug multinationals are lobbying for a devious patent linkage system to block the entry of competitive generics

Scientific management of mangroves is need of the hour

40 per cent of mangrove forests in West Coast of India have been converted into farmlands and housing colonies over the last three decades

Development news, polarisation and social media in times of Lok Sabha polls

Polarisation of development news in social media makes its impact partisan and non-effective

Time to abandon UNFCCC to address climate change

The progress made by United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change so far and its potential to deliver results in the future looks uncertain.  

Is NOTA the answer to TINA?

The ‘None of the Above’ provision on electoral voting machines is turning out to be a decentralised protest

General Elections 2019: Science in polls, from feel 'good' to feel 'strong'

With the Balakot episode and later the ASAT declaration, the ruling party has brought ‘muscular science’ into the spotlight alongside oft-repeated claims of ancient India’ scientific prowess

Climate caveats

Without the switch to renewable energy, CO2 emissions would have been 50 per cent higher in the world; that's great, but not enough