COVID-19: Bracing for agrarian crisis and food insecurity

Distress among marginal farmers and unavailability of food to migrant labourers has been largely ignored in Union government’s economic …

Public Deprived System

The country’s 76 million poor have been denied the right to claim subsidised foodgrain under public distribution system

Kerala's answer to drought: PPP model for water management

Activists say the move will end up privatising water sources and wetlands; increase water cost manifold

Delhi's water supply skewed and mismanaged

Is the Haryana government really to be blamed for Delhi's water shortage? The answer perhaps lies in understanding the disparity in water supply …

Persistent in folly

Rice and wheat fetch a secure price and subsidies on farm inputs. Coarse grains have no place in the public distribution system, although their …

Rice: the real cost

It is said the future wars would be fought over the issue of water, not land. Yet Indian government promotes rice, which consumes water, over …

Cereal killer

By promotong rice over coarse grains, the government is promoting food scarcity and defeciency of micronutrients among India's most malnourished …

Bolsanaro’s environmental crimes come under EU scanner

Europe’s resolve to act against the Bolsonaro government’s environmental crimes appears to be strengthening

Model in a fix

Chhattisgarh's much appreciated public distribution scheme is falling apart due to corruption and mismanagement

Grain of truth

India's public distribution system promotes rice and wheat. These water-intensive crops require more inputs and are less nutritious as compared …

Science and Technology - Briefs

News 360°

Eye on accuracy

Realisation to make meters error-free may have come late to India, but technology is making rapid strides

Why better sewage management in Chennai will help fight floods

Down To Earth Editor Sunita Narain explains how the city's three rivers and 320 tanks and lakes that worked as flood barriers are used mostly for …

SC upbraids Centre for 'conniving with tobacco industry'

Directs it to effectively implement rules that severely restrict advertisement, promotion and sponsorship of tobacco products

Public good, private concerns

Odisha is becoming a testing ground for ADB’s aggressive water sector reforms

Rural water and sanitation needs to prioritise sustainability

Prioritising drinking water source sustainability, mix-up of nutrient cycle and reuse of treated biosolids & wastewater …

India, south Asian neighbours must act against trans-fat now: WHO

The countries are among the 15 that account for two-thirds of the deaths linked to the substance

Emergency

Chennai, crippled by water crisis, is also a metaphor for what Indian cities are experiencing in sourcing and managing the most precious natural …

The past and present of rivers

Author(s): Karuna Futane We are a generation that has turned flowing fresh water rivers to rivers of sewage and garbage. We have lost rivers. …

Lakes do the disappearing act

Several lakes in Hyderabad have shrunk or vanished due to encroachment and pollution

Pee, poop and paani

Bharat Lal Seth recounts his experience of drinking water reclaimed from sewage

WASH: UN report finds 2030 SDG targets may just be a dream

Plans in place to address water and sanitation issues, countries face hurdles in implementation, says GLAAS report 

Energy access goals need greater effort in post-COVID-19 world: Report

Report calls SDG 7 progress of last few years regarding access to electricity insufficient; says pandemic will make things worse

Coal India to be probed for supply of low grade coal to sponge iron, power plants

Poor quality coal pollutes more; anti-competitive fuel supply agreements also under scanner of Competition Commission of India