In - Depth

Palm oil consumption increased 230% in almost 2 decades, yet India imports most of it
Agriculture
Palm oil consumption increased 230% in almost 2 decades, yet India imports most of it

India has not been able to achieve self-sufficiency in palm oil production despite 40 years of efforts. Down To Earth travelled to some of the oil growing states to understand why
July 18, 2018
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With half a million new farm ponds, should farmers be worried about deficit monsoon?
Water

With half a million new farm ponds, should farmers be worried about deficit monsoon?
Why MSP will not provide even minimum support to farmers
Agriculture

Why MSP will not provide even minimum support to farmers
Photo: Agnimirh Basu
Environment

India can rely on sand imports till the time it is viable
Environment
Make 17 June, the celebration of the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought, your date with nature. Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Make choices that will help end soil erosion, reduce effects of drought or dust storms

Every year, we make New Year resolutions about change. Why not include as one of those resolutions, a change of habit leading that will lead to a smart sustainable consumer lifestyle?
August 16, 2018
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Climate Change
Run for cover: 100 days, 44 storms, 16 states, 423 deaths

Run for cover: 100 days, 44 storms, 16 states, 423 deaths

An unprecedented storm season challenges India's scientific community
June 07, 2018
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Forests
Why zoonotic diseases are fast spreading to humans

Why zoonotic diseases are fast spreading to humans

Infectious diseases that were once confined to animals in forests are now attacking human beings, at a faster pace
June 08, 2018
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Climate Change
Source: UNHCR

Africa and climate change: Exiled by emissions

The impacts of climate change are making the continent even more vulnerable
May 16, 2018
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Climate Change
Credit: Simon Asia / Flickr

Clouds of confusion over monsoon's timely arrival

While extended range forecast shows some signs of an early onset, other meteorological conditions have shrouded the forecast in uncertainty
May 14, 2018
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Food
(Left) Nishanth Chandran, proprietor of TenderCuts. Vivek Gupta and Abhay Hanjura inside the Licious production centre lab in Bengaluru (Photo courtesy: Licious and TenderCuts)

Fresh comes calling

A few e-shops are changing the way wet markets operate by offering fresh, chemical-free fish, poultry and meat at the doorstep. Will they be able to stand by their claims and cater to masses at an affordable price?
May 04, 2018
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Governance
Swachh Bharat Mission: other name for coercion and deprivation

Swachh Bharat Mission: other name for coercion and deprivation

What started as a campaign to make India open defecation free, has now taken shape of a cocercive policy of shaming people for not using toilets, denying poor people ration under public distribution system and other welfare schemes
April 29, 2018
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Waste
Plastics ban calls for deliberation, not draconian measures

Plastics ban calls for deliberation, not draconian measures

While a plastic-free society may sound good, issues like lack of alternatives to banned products and potential threats to livelihoods of millions need to be factored in while framing policies
April 21, 2018
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Governance
Illustration: Tarique Aziz

Tribunal on a tightrope

Poor implementation of polluter pays principle and conflicts with the environment ministry risks the National Green Tribunal's effectiveness
April 18, 2018
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Urbanisation
Here comes the megacities

Here comes the megacities

By 2100, at least 10 cities are predicted to have population over 50 million. How can society keep pace?
July 25, 2018
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Governance
Swachh Bharat is not just about chasing toilets

Swachh Bharat is not just about chasing toilets

Instead of being euphoric about fast pace of toilet construction in the country, the government should focus on the factors failing to trigger the communities to use toilets
April 12, 2018
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Water
A man carrying a bucket of water from a small roadside spring in Cape Town, South Africa (Photo: Reuters)

Last few drops

Taps will run dry in the South African metropolis of Cape Town in two months. Hundreds of cities across the world are nearing a similar breakdown. Can they avoid a collapse?
March 20, 2018
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Climate Change
Photographs: Srikant Chaudhary

India's climate quandary

The National Innovations in Climate Resilient Agriculture, India's flagship programme that aims to make Indian villages climate-proof, is at crossroads due to a lack of strategy for expansion
April 02, 2018
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Energy
The future is electric

The future is electric

The global automobile fleet is marching forward to wean away from fossil fuels. India has shown intent but lacks a clear policy and roadmap. What is the way out?
February 12, 2018
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Health
Credit: Vikas Choudhary / CSE

They cannot cast out women

Khap Panchayat's recent posturing against SC judgement on inter-caste marriage and threatening not to produce a girl child shows that time has come to dismantle these caste councils
February 09, 2018
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Governance
The rise of the rurals

The rise of the rurals

The Bharatiya Janata Party's famed "Gujarat Model" gets a rude jolt in the state's recent polls, especially from rural communities in the Saurashtra region
January 29, 2018
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Climate Change
Study suggests that climate change is the dominant factor in the decisions of 14.5% of migrants leaving the Mekong Delta. Credit: Pixabay

Climate change is triggering a migrant crisis in Vietnam

It looks as if climate change is forcing 24,000 people to leave the Mekong Delta every year
August 16, 2018
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Wildlife & Biodiversity
The income of tribal communities of Kalahandhi district, Odisha, increased three-fold once their right to sell tendu leaves to traders of their choice was recognised under the Forest Rights Act (Photo: Vikas Choudhary)

Forest governance 2.0

Forest dwelling communities have created a new economy courtesy a decade of the Forest Rights Act. Will the bureaucracy support the empowered communities?
January 02, 2018
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Economy
Credit: Cuika Foto / Flickr

Did WTO MC 11 achieve anything?

Members failed to remove WTO constraints on countries’ ability to feed their hungry population and improve farmers’ livelihoods
August 16, 2018
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Energy
Illustration: Tarique Aziz

The futility of CoP23

Although in its 25th year, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is still struggling to find a way out of this century's biggest developmental challenge: climate change
February 22, 2018
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