The secret garden
Want to know about a lost variety of rice or a cure to asthma? Answers lie in the notebooks of schoolchildren and women of the Sundarbans and …
COVID-19, poverty may have spurred child marriages in India: Activists
Numbers show one in every four in India is a child marriage, but ground situation may be even worse
On wrong wavelength
Twenty years after the Supreme Court asserted that people have a right over radio waves, community radio continues to struggle. Instead of …
Africa loses more money than it gets in aid
While annual global aid is less than $30 billion, the continent incurs loss of $58 billion every year
Gujarat's Chirajeevi Yojana fails to deliver
US$ 32 million given to private healthcare sector under the scheme to improve maternal and child health, but childbirth-related complications …
Skill development: China shows the way
Vocational education in India seems to be caught in a time warp. In contrast, China has a well-designed system in place
Book launch becomes platform to debunk studies on health risks of cell phone towers
IIT professor and international expert say fear around mobile technology is unscientific
Gujarat's power consumers paying for losses caused by Coal India Limited
Supply of inferior quality coal to power plants has increased power production cost, points out NGO
Salvage science
Scientific Advisory Council to Prime Minister seeks more funds and education reforms in science sector
Bihar midday meals: 75 students take ill, five critical
Two separate incidents of food poisoning from consuming midday meal reported from Arwal and Jhajha districts
Mobile technology to be used to improve maternal and child health in Africa
Smartphones will help health workers track the health of expecting mothers and their unborn children
Rules and renegades
Pesticide regulations in India are lax. The industry has exploited the loopholes to corrupt the system. And the government has turned a blind eye …
Industry's Nemesis
A report by the National Institute of Occupational Health nails endosulfan. Is that why the pesticide establishment wants to keep it under wraps?
Environment ministry rapped
Parliament committee says serious inadequacies in afforestation, biodiversity programmes
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
‘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
Jungle raj
CAG memo shows IFS officers are administering country’s premier forestry research body like a fiefdom
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