India Organics Inc

The Indian farmer is 'naturally' organic. But without support and premium for 'green' crops, there is no alternative but to take the chemical route

"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.

Ladakh on the move

Ladakh is the one region in India where sustainable development is the only way ahead. Dry toilets, water efficient crops, cooperative farming, a …

Nagpur has 200 bird species, reveals bird-spotting exercise

60 to 65 of the species were found in MIHAN-SEZ area earmarked for industrial development

‘Disasters like Ebola threaten Africa’s progress towards MDGs’

Report launched at the ninth African Economic Conference says the continent made headway in human development but its continuation is threatened …

Untapped Potential

Lack of lagislation and certification undermines the potential of organic farming in India

UN reports fall in development assistance from donor countries

Decline in aid will affect efforts to reach Millennium Development Goals by 2015

Last ditch attempt

UPA gives sops under MGNREGS to attract rural voters ahead of elections

Cigarettes with additives pollute air more: study

Fifteen chemicals increased by 20 per cent or more in air with the cigarettes

GDP ignores cost to the environment

Can this flawed measure of growth be reversed?

Inheritance of loss

Whatever the poverty line, 50 per cent people in India will remain poor

Who are the poor?

Planning Commission's poverty estimates do not reflect ground reality

‘Policies will infuse objectivity in health research’

Several health and research policies in the country are either in draft stage or just recommendatory in nature. This hampers regulation of …

Who are the poor?

Identifying the poor and measuring the poverty is a contentious issue. Poverty line is not a sacred line. At best, it indicates how far the …

Poverty level will increase if health expenditure included

Planning Commission factors in less than one rupee a day as health expenditure in its affidavit to the apex court

Nothing to bank on

The government’s much-hyped Direct Benefit Transfer programme has hit a roadblock. Banks have failed to meet the huge demand for opening …

Jungle raj

CAG memo shows IFS officers are administering country’s premier forestry research body like a fiefdom

Maharashtra elections: Welfare dominates tribal mandate

Vote likely to be split between the Congress, NCP and BJP

ASHAs not enough to deliver healthcare to urban poor: study

'Women in urban slums need a basket of healthcare services to meet their needs'

Agriculture ministry bats for GM crops

Calls for a national policy on GM crops in its report to Parliament

Latin lessons

Experiments in cash transfer in Latin America

Inclusive budget for inclusive growth

Budgets should not just talk about GDP and sops. It should ensure that basic rights and necessities of people are met in an effective manner

Scientists write to PM against ICAR ‘gag order’ on GM mustard

Health and safety of crops draw concern from scientific community

Over 300 million Indians still defecate in the open: WHO-UNICEF report

Bangladesh, Nepal and Pakistan do much better in improving access to sanitation

A schoolgirl’s nuclear nightmare

Varshini, 10, speaks for a new generation that is against nuclear energy