"Subsidy culture has killed local agriculture"

Thupstan Chhewang, Chief Executive Councillor and chairperson of the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC) speaks to Down To Earth.

High altitude, high pressure

Ladakh's leadership is alive to many problems. But, challenges are not easy

Panchayati Raj: A good beginning

But will there be a place for traditional institutions in modern local self-governance?

More energy, Less wastage

Solar is Ladakh's way out of the diesel trap

Re-schooling ladakh

Eight years of reforms have turned government schools around in Leh district

An attractive Place to go

Tourism's footprint is too big for Leh's infrastructure

A farewell to farms

Ladakh survives on its farms. But can agriculture survive government policies?

Aiding agenda

Why experts want GM freeze

Say regulatory system has grave deficiencies; challenge agriculture ministry’s claims

Call of the wild

Wild foods are a way of life for many tribal communities. Sadly, they are being muscled out by cereals and cash crops

Crushed and torn

Closed tea gardens of West Bengal are enclaves of death and destitution. Speculative ownership and a callous government have prolonged the crisis,…

Saying no to Monsanto

The Indian patent office has once again rejected the biotech seed giant’s claim for a method to produce stress-tolerant transgenic plants

Starved of fodder

Marathwada has been struggling with acute fodder shortage, but the state government has not taken any step to counter the problem

GM and the superhero

Same indifference

Change must be championed

Indian scientists: missing in action

Moily bats for GM trials

After he revives regulatory body for GM crops, industry demands removal of state clearances

Rogue GM crops wreak havoc

Monsanto’s unauthorised GM wheat in the US has spooked the world, but contamination is widespread

New Independence struggle

Survival menu

Bajra is nutritious, tasty and freely available

Women grow food basket

Maharashtra district revives an old farm practice and tackles drought

Money plants?

How green is your money? Investors try to figure out as plantation companies take them for a ride

Green peace in black curls

Traditional tea cultivation in China's Jinuoshan area, unlike in most other places, ensures ecological balance

Pouring prosperity

The micro-watershed development project in Maharashtra has put a stop to what was earlier an annual ritual of deserting the drought-prone …