Chipko: an unfinished mission

In 20 years, Chipko has acquired many facets, primarily as a conservation endeavour by the poor, a struggle for local control of natural …

Monsoon of death

Every monsoon, Baba Raghav Das Medical College of Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, witnesses hundreds of children dying of viral encephalitis or Acute …

More arsenic

Exactly how widespread is the presence of poisonous arsenic in the groundwater that Indians drink? In Delhi, a doctor's phone call propels Down …

Chipko: an unfinished mission

In 20 years, Chipko has acquired many facets, primarily as a conservation endeavour by the poor, a struggle for local control of natural …

Children of a lesser State

A rare killer disease, Japanese encephalitis, has been annually and invariably breaking out in eastern Uttar Pradesh, India. This year, so far, 3,…

Vaccine Eloquent

Universal vaccination became part of government policy in 1978. A quarter of a century since, progress has been fitful. In some parts of the …

Resurgent polio

Eradicating polio in India is proving to be a tough ask. The disease, which seemed to have been contained a few years ago, is rearing its head …

Just dump it

Acids of arsenic. Organo-mercury compounds. Batteries. Bristles of boars or hogs. More potent stuff: asbestos; slag dross; ash and residues of …

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 …

Paan loses flavour

Iconic paan no more appeals to farmers, traders and common people. They say the contagious spread of chewing tobacco, especially gutkha, is fast …

Elementary failure

Since the Right To Education Act came into force on April 1, 2010, India has been witnessing an experiment that involves parents in enforcing a …

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 …

Road to disaster

Fertile land is up for grabs in western Uttar Pradesh. Private developers are acquiring it to build apartments, industries, IT institutes, and …

Flat in 20 days

Global climatic anomalies allied with local weather conditions produced the most freakish hailstorms in central and north India in February and …

Desperately seeking skills & jobs

India has a youth bulge in its population, accounting for the largest number of young working age people in the world. This demographic …

Science under siege

Agricultural science has ossified in India. Despite a vast network of public research institutions and agriculture universities across the country,…

Organic Universe

Organic is all the rage. Organic food, cosmetics, clothes and even organic medicines. But mostly it is food. There are speciality stores that …

Sand slips

Where there is a river, there is sand. Called a minor mineral, it fulfils a major requirement of the booming construction industry. No wonder, …

Let solar shine

Census 2011 throws light on the darkness across India. Of the 246 million households, 67 per cent get electricity from the grid, while 31 per …

Come back holy cow

Cow, from being an axis of a farmer’s economy to being abandoned, is too big a change people would bargain for

UP Assembly Elections 2022: Impact of farmers’ protest likely; MSP, cane dues major issues in Jat belt

Western UP farmers say they have become aware of their rights due to the protest and will vote on them

Daily Court Digest: Major environment orders (June 24, 2020)

Down To Earth brings you the top environmental cases heard in the Supreme Court, the high courts and the National Green Tribunal

UP Assembly Elections 2022: Who will the riverine Nishads vote for this time

The Nishad community has been deprived of their traditional rights to river systems; for them, the polls are a matter of survival

Indian scientists find a cure for dreaded Panama Disease

They have manufactured a biopesticide using a fungus to prevent the disease in banana plants

Perennial rivers turning seasonal a disturbing trend

We need to work on plans to restore our plain-fed rivers and all other aspects which affect river flows through robust institutions and …