India is staring at a big sanitation crisis and needs to reinvent its excreta disposal mechanism
6.6 magnitude quake strikes Afghanistan
World Health Day: Diabetes, the modern killer
Going backward
Parliamentary panel gives more teeth to Compensatory Afforestation Fund
However the panel’s report tabled in this budget session misses the forests for the trees
Fisheries: an answer to food security and nutrition
For several countries fish exports are essential to national economies, FAO experts say
World Wildlife Day: India’s conflict with elephants
Elephants stand at the focal point on the occasion of World Wildlife Day. In India, human-elephant conflict is increasing due to shrinking habitats
Zika-the new global pandemic
After dengue and chikungunya, the Aedes mosquito is delivering a new emergency— Zika. Down To Earth looks into the reasons behind the spread and the threat the virus holds
Agricultural biotechnolgies a boon for family farmers, say experts
A range of biotechnologies can help bring about high yields, improve nutrition quality and add value to the productivity of crops, livestock, fish and trees
Tax rebate to promote rainwater harvesting
Various municipal corporations in the country are offering concession of property tax in exchange of a rainwater harvesting system. Is the scheme working?
World Cancer Day: 'Toxins in the environment are a major problem'
With the rise in the number of cancer cases reported in India every year, prevention and affordable treatment will become critical in battling the disease
Meet thy neighbours
Every existence has its excuse, it is said. Every year taxonomists in India venture into uncharted landscapes and scan every nook and corner to find out many such existences and unveil the excuses. In the past year they found 523 species of animals and plants. Down To Earth introduces a few of the country's newest citizens to you, each of them equally contributing to the megadiversity of India
World ocean assessment warns of excessive pressures on ocean resources
The report has compiled environmental impacts of all human activities on oceans and warned that a failure to act quickly would pose the greatest threat to oceans
Save and Grow: a guide to sustainable cereal production
The technique focuses on conservation agriculture, maintaining soil health, selecting crops with higher yield potential and greater resistance to climate change and efficient water management
Indian Science Congress: assessing progress and challenges
Why this abandoned village is a threat to Uttarakhand
People are abandoning their villages despite high economic growth, leaving behind few, who find it difficult to continue farming without community support
Labour exit
Labour shortage in agriculture forces Indian farmers to innovate to stay afloat
International Mountain Day: Highland people to face vagaries of weather, food insecurity
Released on the occasion of Mountain Day, two reports highlight climate threats to high altitude areas
CAG assesses performance of ministries
The Comptroller and Auditor-General of India had submitted 16 performance reports on various sectors to the Finance Ministry and they were tabled in the Parliament
2015: The year that was
Taking stock of developments of the year
Why better sewage management in Chennai will help fight floods
Down To Earth Editor Sunita Narain explains how the city's three rivers and 320 tanks and lakes that worked as flood barriers are used mostly for dumping sewage
Where dry gardens wilt
India is one of the 17 megadiverse countries, with over 11 per cent of the world's plant species. Herbaria across the country store millions of rich biological samples, helping scientists to connect with the past and better understand evolution, extinction, climate change and even introduction of invasive species. But due to inadequate funds and little government support, these repositories …
Plan of inaction
How the US president sold an unambitious plan to clean the power sector as historical
A look at the changing scenario of Bihar politics
Of late, women have become the it factor in elections. Caste also plays a dominant role in voter polarisation