CATEGORIES

Will Nudge Come To Shove?

It is crucial that nudge as a tool is used meticulously for political canvassing

Recycling Wheel

How Gujarat succeeded in co-processing plastic waste in cement kilns and promoted a circular economy

Install Windmills, But Not At Cost Of Birds

Buoyed up by wind power, Germany has been the frontrunner in the global energy transition from fossil fuels to renewable sources. Lately, wind power organisations are lobbying to increase their number even faster, particularly in the sensitive North Sea and the Baltic. This has posed a dilemma for conservationists who generally support renewable energy. The windmills, with massive blades, are known to kill birds and bats. KATHRIN AMMERMANN, who heads the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN), tells JITENDRA how the government is trying to curb environmental impact of clean energy.

US Trading On Thin Ice

As Trump escalates the trade war with China, the key question is what constitutes theft of intellectual property

More Out Than In

Central government's maternity benefit scheme excludes more women than it covers

Sealed With Trouble

Faulty policies have allowed industries to use multilayered plastic packages without the responsibility of retrieving them

Loo And Behold, But Beware

The countdown to meet the target of an open defecation free India has begun. Though it seemed like we were once again going to miss another development goal, we will achieve the target within the next 25 weeks, much before the deadline of October 2019. India's first-ever experience when all of us will have a toilet of our own is worth a grand applause. However, we have just crossed the first hurdlethe easiest milestone of constructing toilets. SUSMITA SENGUPTA and RASHMI VERMA take a hard look at the challenges that need to be addressed

A Dig At The Poor

District Mineral Foundations were set up to improve the lives of people affected by mining. But maladministration is defeating its raison d'etre.

Of Funds And Fallacy

Poor implementation of the District Mineral Foundation has excluded some of the worst mining-affected people, whom it was supposed to benefit.

Will Africa Meet Its Sanitation Target?

More than 600 million Africans still lack access to safe sanitation. This will ultimately determine the well-being of the continent.

Rise Of The Fall

Fall Armyworm, a deadly but little understood crop pest, poses a threat to food security and livelihoods of millions as it ravages crops in Africa and now Asia. First detected in July 2018 in India, the pest has caused widespread damage to maize crops, raising the possibility that the country may have to import maize.

Bedaquiline And India's Patent Law

Opposition to the new patent claims on the Johnson & Johnson drug is a test of how well the rules against evergreening are working.

Robots Are Here, Almost

The use of industrial robots is growing at an unprecedented rate in India. Are blue-collar jobs under threat?

Hidden Elixir

A one-stop medicine shop, amrakh can be the wow factor in homemade pickles and chutneys.

Encroached Upon

Thirteen years aft er a historic law was formulated to give forest dwellers legal ownership of their traditi th onal land, their fate still hangs in the balance.A recent Supreme Court verdict, which almost made their eviction imminent, has brought the focus back on the tedious righhts recognition process under the Forest Rights Act, 2006.ISHAN KUKRETI reports from Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarli and Delhi, with inputs from PRIYA RANJAN SAHU in Odisha

Of Cacti And Algae

Even after 50 years, India's research on forage crops fails to avert fodder shortage but churns out some unconventional alternatives

Profitable Pods

Yongchak is a Manipuri legume used in salads, pickles and delicacies

Empanel A Jury...

...because solar panel waste is piling up

Farmers Rights Are A Hot Potato

The fallout between US major PepsiCo and Gujarat’s potato growers underlines the looming threat to farmers’ rights in India over ownership of seeds.

Kumbh Raises A Stink

A city that celebrated the festival of faith months ago, is on the verge of an epidemic.

The Countdown Begins

In the world’s biggest-ever electoral exercise, the largest democracy has elected a new government. It’s not just a national occasion of celebration and hope; the world is closely watching India. The new government is taking charge when the countdown to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (sdgs) has begun. In just 10 years—by 2030 or in just two tenures of a Union government in India—the world has to deliver on the ambitious 17 sdgs and 169 targets.For each of these goals, India has the pivotal role in defining whether the world will be able to meet these targets. That's because of the sheer number of Indians who are lagging behind in each of these development indices. So, for the new government it is not just a national development agenda, but also a global responsibility. Down To Earth has set a roadmap for the new government, which can also become a framework for the world to ensure development for all

Welfare Interrupted

Sloppy government attitude holds up a project and a technology that can manage faecal waste as well as generate clean fuel SHAGUN KAPIL VALSAD, GUJARAT

A Sweet Trick

The sugar lobby does not want an answer to the global debate on whether sugar is bad for health

Drowning In Waste

While Zanzibar is cashing in on tourism, it is also battling plastic menace in the form of litter consisting of discarded water bottles and toiletries

Wells Rescued

Kerala's Thrissur district has managed to arrest groundwater depletion by promoting well-recharge

The Zero Budget Farming Discord

There is unease over the crusader of natural farming, Subhash Palekar, for renaming the technique after himself

The Ganga Crusader

G D Agarwal's death after holding fast for 111 days for the cause of India's holy river should inspire us to fight in a Gandhian manner

A Setback To Struggle For Health Rights

Amit Sengupta's optimism and persistence have inspired generations of public health activists in India and abroad.

Brain-Teaser

A device that uses electricity to pass through your brain is believed to cure a range of diseases. But the jury is still out on its safety.

The Lament Continues

The Alma-Ata Declaration failed to ensure health for all. Will Astana succeed?