Director General of CSE and editor of Down To Earth, an environmentalist who pushes for changes in policies, practices and mindsets
Air pollution: the ostrich effect
We know the causes of air pollution, but in the political theatrics around it, each solution suggested is contested
It’s that time of the year again
The air pollution concern is today widespread, but there is an incomplete agenda that needs further attention
E-vehicles or e-mobility?
India has unique reasons for faster adoption of electric vehicles, but we need to be bold and aggressive in our plans
Old answers for ‘new’ monsoon
Mitigating floods and droughts has only one answer: obsessive attention to building millions and millions of connected and living water structures
Waste not the dissent
For so long we have used backyards of our cities as dumping grounds, but people in poor neighbourhoods are saying enough is enough
Matter of taste
Our vegetables have become blemish-free, resistant to pest and long-lasting, but they have lost their flavour in the process
The Behaviour Puzzle
Stigmatising the powerless is not the way to a cleaner India, but only a more ashamed India
Sin tax for redemption
The Goods and Services Tax of 40 per cent on “sugar-sweetened aerated and flavoured water” has a big bang impact on public health
What's your view of the road?
If we are not able to walk, we cannot really build a vibrant public transport network
We can’t afford to lose farmers
It is time we talked about the real cost of our food, about how to benefit the farmers who grow our food
How not to grow trees
Planting a tree is now bound up in so much restriction and red tape that it is not worth the effort
Food and dissent
Sunita Narain's response to the comments on her previous editorial "Why I would not advocate vegetarianism"
Future is in our hands
We can make or break it, depending on whether we stand up and are counted or let markets drive democracies
BS-IV checkmate
The country has a massive problem of older and more polluting vehicles. But why should this be an argument for delaying transition?
Wolf at our door
The US has made the world rewrite the climate agreement so that the targets are based on voluntary action, not science
Why I would not advocate vegetarianism
Meat eating is not the key issue, it is the amount that is consumed and the manner in which it is produced. This is where India differs.
Pet coke conundrum
We are buying the world’s dirtiest fuel as if we have no worries of air pollution. This needs to change
Policy Backfires
Policy design allows dirty fuels like pet coke and furnace oil to flourish
The undisclosed air pollutants
How furnace oil and pet coke are choking us as policy fails to stay ahead of underground developments
First, justify jallikattu?
If the tradition has to be kept alive in spirit, then its proponents must muster courage to walk the talk
2016: a year of growing dissent
This year, more than ever before, has been tumultuous, both in terms of economic politics and nature’s art
Revenge of the rich
Trump's election reflects the anger of the rich who did not get richer. This inequity is also at the core of the climate change challenge
Seethe against smog, now
Why is it we cannot get our act together to implement actions against air pollution?
Reworking informal businesses
In countries like India, informal business is the existing order of the day
Who is cooking our recipe books?
A subtle marketing drive is changing our food habits and we do not even know it