CATEGORIES

Landslide Trigger

Leakage from the tunnel carrying water to Parbati II hydroelectric plant in Kullu is just one way how the project threatens the landslide-prone area.

New Systems, Old Habits

Launched in 2014, the continuous monitoring systems for highly polluting industries were expected to usher in a new era of environmental governance in India. But poor planning, hasty execution and lack of enforcement have made the new-age regulatory mechanism a non-starter. Sanjeev Kumar Kanchan reports.

A Clean Miss

The new Swachh Survekshan ranking promotes cities with poor waste management practices.

Dry Run

Nutritional standards for the sale of camel milk, issued for the first time by the government, are a huge threat to the nascent dairy industry.

Out Of The Abyss

The recent surge in earthquakes and the explanation for the formation of the world's largest exposed fault have provided momentum to seismological research. SHREESHAN VENKATESH looks at the latest findings.

Blind Spot in Namami Gange

Two flagship programmes of Prime Minister Narendra Modi are working at cross-purposes. By 2019, when Swachh Bharat Mission comes to an end, some 30 million septic tanks and pits would have been dug along the Ganga. These tanks and pits would produce 180 million litres of faecal sludge every day, which will eventually find its way into the Ganga, defeating Namami Gange. It's time the Central, state and local sanitation programmes recognised faecal sludge management as a priority to ensure a clean Ganga 

Ganga Needs More Than Just Cleaning

Government reforms must include basin-scale hydrological and ecological conservation efforts Michelle Irengbam, Shivani Barthwal, Niladri Dasgupta, Ruchi Badola & Syed Ainul Hussain

Pills By Jugaad!

A new investigative book, bottle of lies, says that Indian cancer drugs are contaminated; cholesterol medication has shards of glass; and, blood pressure pills contain a live bug. In these excerpts, the author, Katherine Eban writes about jugaad, an indian model of aggressive shortcuts, the ability to dodge onerous rules to get the desired results

Vitamin B12 - Are You Deficient?

The prescription for a plant-based diet overlooks vitamin B12 deficiency that is primarily present in animal-based diets

5G And The Fear Of Radiation

Radiation fears mount as the world gets ready to embrace the networkintensive 5G

Fields On Fire

The pattern of burning crop residue in India is changing. The practice is no longer limited to the post-monsoon crop of rice or the northern states of Punjab and HaryanaJITENDRA, SHREESHAN VENKATESH, ISHAN KUKRETI, KUNDAN PANDEY, DEEPANWITA NIYOGI and POLASH MUKERJEE travel to five states across the country to study the trend.

How Trump Happened!

Widespread anger stemming from the loss of trust in government decided the new presidency of the US.

Fat Is More About How The Body Feels Than How It Actually Looks

It's more about how the body feels, than how it looks

Here Come The Gene Hackers

Interventions to make heritable changes to the human genome are fraught with uncertainties. There are legitimate concerns about using a still imperfect technology that can rewrite the very blueprint of life. Also, the debate on whether it’s ethical to do so is far from being settled. However, would-be baby tinkerers around the world have failed to get the message

Mumbai Coastal Road Project - An Ecological Disaster

The US $1.7 billion mumbai coastal road to be built by reclaiming the inter-tidal Western Coast is an ecological and livelihood disaster in the making. Here’s why

Miniature Brinjals From The Northeast

Quite common in the northeast, these miniature brinjals can be cooked in a myriad ways

Drowned In Uncertainty

The Supreme Court has given the go-ahead to the controversial Sardar Sarovar Dam to run at its full capacity. But the government is not sure who all will get submerged, let alone rehabilitate them

Poor Despite ₹5,800 Crore

Plan and plan well is the message from the first independent evaluation of India's ambitious resource-sharing plan for mining districts

A Blow To Autonomy?

The landmark Goods and Services Tax, which aims to create a one-tax nation, could reduce local self-governing bodies to mendicancy and lead to centralisation of financial power

Pangolins Win, Lions Lose

The latest meeting of CITES has pledged to conserve the last remaining populations of wild species threatened by illegal international trade

missing the woods for wood

is it worthwhite to clear forests to annually earn ₹4,500 per hectare?

The Hungry Caterpillar

Even as science unmasks the sinister side of plastic, we are becoming ever more dependent on it. Is there a way out of this deadly addiction?

Govt V Govt V People

Two government departments and landless people are locked in a legal battle over 4,000 ha in Madhya Pradesh whose outcome would have countrywide ramifications

Migratory Mayhem

The migration season in the Maasai MaraSerengeti region in Africa has begun earlier than usual this year, due to the destruction of habitats

Underrated Treasure

Though it is present everywhere, people tend to miss the superfood kulfa

We Could Discover New Bird Species In The Eastern Himalayas

TREVOR PRICE has been studying birds in India since 1972, investigating breeding biology and bird distributions, especially in the Himalayas. He is a leading expert in bird speciation—the formation of new bird species in the course of evolution Currently, on a Fulbright Fellowship and working with the Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, he speaks to RAJAT GHAI about Himalayan avifauna

Untouched by Drought

Hiware Bazar that once learned from Ralegan Siddhi how to become water-secure can today teach it how to remain so.

Renewed Hope

Six hundred million people in Africa do not have access to electricity. But things are poised to change in the coming decades with a steady rise in investments in renewable energy.

`Bioregionalism Could Become a Global Movement'

French architect DIDIER PROST is an advocate of bioregionalism, which calls for a renewed focus on local people and knowledge to innovate for greener solutions. He speaks to RAJAT GHAI on how bioregional approaches can be adopted to solve India's environmental problems.

Good Luck Crane

Saving the black-necked cranes in India requires protecting its habitat.