Are Delhi schools serving unhealthy food?

Schools in Delhi are serving unhealthy food to the students. An inspection by the Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights has found that to be the case. Unhealthy foods can be classified as those, which are high in fats, salt, and sugar or HFSS. These foods can lead to childhood obesity, hypertensions and heart diseases.

Universal Basic Income explained in less than two minutes

With an eye on the 2019 elections, the BJP-led government may announce a Universal Basic Income (UBI) scheme. Under UBI, every citizen, regardless of their identity or social and economic position, will be entitled to periodic cash payments.

Tales of cruelty and compassion from a home for destitute animals

All Creatures Great and Small, a shelter set up by humanist and social worker Anjali Gopalan, is a sanctuary for a disparate group of animals

Why is Delhi going through an extra cold December?

At 3.7 degrees Celsius, Delhi has already recorded its coldest December morning in the last 12 years; the IMD predicts that in coming days the temperature can fall

Two decades of Earth data at your fingertips

Check out NASA's latest offering on two decades of changes on Earth, namely detailed views of volanoes fuming, hurricanes flooding, dams being built, and wildfires sweeping

Why is Johnson and Johnson talcum powder being tested by Indian authorities?

Indian authorities are verifying the truth behind the allegations of carcinogens in Johnson and Johnson's talcum powder

Novel cure on the horizon for dementia patients

People with dementia can get back their normal lives. Researchers at Queensland Brain Institute have managed to reverse dementia symptoms in mice. And now the Australian government has given them a $10-million grant to try this cure on humans.

Mission possible: Turning a waste land into a forest with a bank of traditional seeds

A father-daughter duo grow 800 varieties of traditional seeds in a 2.5-acre land in Nayagarh district of Odisha

How climate change-induced glacial melt affects people in the Himalayan region

Climate change-induced glacial melt can seriously affect half a billion people in the Himalayan region.If the warming trend continues, most populated areas of the world may run out of water

Will 2019 Lok Sabha elections be fought over the agrarian crisis?

Agrarian distress has started to manifest in the election results. The first signs were visible in the 2017 assembly elections in Gujarat, where BJP lost a sizeable share of rural votes. In the Lok Sabha elections in 2019, the rural population can prove decisive

No political will to fight global warming finds 2019 Climate Change Performance Index

Are countries doing enough to counter the effects of climate change? Apparently not! 

India lost more than 70,000 people because of climate change-related disasters

A new report by an international thinktank Germanwatch has some bad news for India. It says that between 1998 and 2017, India lost, on an average, 3,660 people every year because of extreme weather events. In this period 73,212 casualties were reported from India.

Why the cheetah may never come back to India?

The year India became independent it also lost all its cheetahs. In 1947, India's last two Asiatic Cheetahs were shot dead in erstwhile princely state of Surguja. In 1952, India declared its cheetah population extinct

Voices of women from Dilli Chalo: We need equal rights as men farmers

A large contingent of women farmers marched along with their male counterparts at the Dilli Chalo protest on November 29-30 in Delhi. The women wanted their voices to be heard in the capital's power corridors. They want to be treated equally along with male counterparts. This includes equal wages; access to government credit and insurance schemes; equal land rights and the recognition that …

Remembering the 1982 Bhopal Gas Tragedy

Even after 34 years of the tragedy, the victims of the Bhopal Gas Tragedy are still awaiting justice.

Farmers explain what brings them to the capital

Why did thousands of farmers take to the streets of New Delhi? Down To Earth turned the mike over to them

Why is Dilli Chalo 2018 a unique protest march by farmers?

P Sainath, noted grassroot journalist and founder editor of People's Archive of Rural India, talks about why this farmer protest is unique? About one lakh farmers from all over India are gathering in Delhi on November 29, 2018. On November 30, they will march to Parliament Street to demand a special Parliament session to discuss the present agrarian crisis and pass two bills. 

Are political parties looking at women differently?

In India, perhaps for the first time, election manifestoes have been made keeping women in mind. The upcoming elections in Madhya Pradesh and Chhatisgarh bear witness to this trend.

Malnutrition among tribal children

Malnutrition is unacceptably higher among India’s tribal population than other communities. Among tribal children under five, 51.1 per cent are stunted, that is eight percentage points higher than among non-tribal children.

Why are Indian farmers protesting?

Farmers all over India are protesting against the government to get fair prices for their agricultural produce. Down To Earth explains the reasons behind these protests.

Aanandaa Farms: The joy of growing a food forest

Manisha Lath Gupta, who was an executive vice president in a private bank, decided to grow healthy food for herself and her family in 2011. She and her husband then created a food forest called Aanandaa on the principles of permaculture. What was a barren piece of land six years ago is now a food forest with more than 4,500 trees.

Cyclones that have hit India: What you should know?

Here is what you should know about cyclonic activity in India as Cyclone Gaja is going to hit the coast of Tamil Nadu today.