COVID-19: Here's what decentralised planning teaches us to curb pandemics
Decentralised infrastructure and services provide a range of benefits for all stakeholders
Operation cover-up
Rat poison theory offered by the Chhattisgarh government to explain the sterilisation deaths is a facade, finds an investigation by Jyotsna Singh.…
Afforestation interrupted
Environment ministry fails to use funds for afforestation, monitor forest diversions: Comptroller and Auditor General
It rained hard in Delhi; what if all that water did not go waste
The volume of rainwater generated in the past week was almost 13 per cent of the demand for water in Delhi, estimated at 2,765 million litres per …
An every monsoon affair: How to tackle urban flooding
Urbanisation is inevitable as is climate change; the need is for a multi-pronged approach
COVID-19: 4 factors to test how vulnerable slums in 4 big cities are
Govt of India thinks novel coronavirus will be a part of life. That makes it imperative to account for limitations before forming policy
Vanishing islands of Bangladesh
Frequent natural disasters continue to inundate and erode many islands in the 'climate impact hot spot'
Water managers remain lukewarm to use of information communication technology
For mass use, any ICT tool has to offer a familiar interface and clear value proposition
A million opportunities lost
The ruling alliance’s flagship rural employment programme took unprecedented strides in creating water conservation structures across the …
Lavasa above law
Lavasa continues to bypass norms. But the environment ministry may give clearance to the the maiden planned hill city in India, Sakshi C Dasgupta …
Rare takes on the year just passing by
Being a Down To Earth reporter entails merging the personal with the professional. The magazine you so dearly own has a fascinating world hidden …
More forest diversions likely in Singrauli
Greenpeace report says pollution from coal-fired thermal plants not considered while allowing mining in coal belt
Kind to Cash
A short stop motion that shows all the schemes that a human being (woman) can avil of in her lifetime.
What COVID-19 can mean for SDG-11, sustainable cities and communities in India
As urban vulnerabilities are amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic, the idea of sustainable cities in Sustainable Development Goals needs to be …
Tensions that continue
While launching this newsmagazine, our founder-editor Anil Agarwal had said that in the years ahead, India will have to seize every possible …
Bhutan’s experiments with happiness
The idyllic Buddhist kingdom believes that peace and happiness should take preference over material growth. In a world beset by inequities and …
Bill will push PDS reform
Development economist JEAN DREZE, known for his work on issues such as hunger, famine, social and human development in India, child health and …
Unique identity crisis
Biometric-based unique identity or Aadhaar is leading to huge problems for people working for the rural employment guarantee scheme and for …
Small towns do not degrade the rural environment
Auroville, or 'the city of dawn', is a unique township located in a predominantly rural district of Villupuram in Tamil Nadu. At the time of its …
Another world is possible
Optimism is a great friend but a bad guide. The Asian Social Forum meeting in Hyderabad, India, deliberately avoided this truism while …
Real estate on water
Lakes were critical for Indian cities. They prevented floods and recharged groundwater. Today, these holes in the ground are either lucrative …
Universal health scare
The country’s planners are debating how to provide healthcare to all. In a drastic shift from the 65-year-old public health system, the …
The lake colony
Call them the "lakers". Some 10,000 of them. Parts of the Dal (land and water) belong to them. And when they feel the need to make a …
Aaj Ka Roadshow
Liberalisation in India has not only affected humdrum life, but also popular cultural forms. This is palpable in the changing dynamics of the big …