Small towns do not degrade the rural environment

Auroville, or 'the city of dawn', is a unique township located in a predominantly rural district of Villupuram in Tamil Nadu. At the time of its …

G Nammalvar, messiah of organic revolution

G Nammalvar was one of a kind, a messiah of farmers who was revered as a saint-teacher by his followers. He was an agriculture scientist, a …

A green company in a grey market

There was a time when Payinthulasi, a 40-year old herb gatherer of village Utchananthal in Virudunagar district of Tamil Nadu, had to trudge to …

Profit from the poor

Fifty-four suicides in Andhra Pradesh have blown the lid off the social posturing by microfinance companies. Before the news of the deaths sank …

Short circuit

On the face of it, the ambitious Sethusamudram project to bridge the east coast with the west coast of the country seems a great idea. The …

Maize Mania

Maize has become the queen of cereals, courted by state governments, seed companies, farmers and the feedstock and starch industries as the crop …

Predicting the future

A severe shortage of medicinal plants and herbs threatens ISM. Cultivation may be the only way out. But currently medicinal plants that are …

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 …

Deep waters

Puducherry's plans for a new port have prompted unprecedented protests. Allegations of a huge land grab facilitated by procedural violations and …

Unravelling the food mess

Reaching food to people who need it the most has remained one of the most stubborn problems in India. The public distribution system (PDS) is in …

Rights without benefits

Over 1.3 million tribals and forest dwellers have got rights over the land they had been using for years under the Forest Rights Act. This can, …

Still life in waves

The visual media is into the business of producing images. Sometimes, just sometimes, they become iconic. For disasters there is a recognisable …

Universal health scare

The country’s planners are debating how to provide healthcare to all. In a drastic shift from the 65-year-old public health system, the …

Gentle on critical pollution

After declaring 43 industrial areas in India as critically polluted and imposing a moratorium on their expansion, the Union Ministry of …

Deafening Noise

Constant exposure to noise can make one deaf. The major culprit is road traffic. Can one avoid noise? It’s difficult. Checking it, however, …

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, …

Kudankulam meltdown

The spectre of Fukushima continues to haunt the world, forcing governments in most parts of the globe to rethink their plans to tap this …

A peek into Amma's welfare schemes

Tamil Nadu chief minister for six times, Jayalalitha Jayaram died in Chennai on December 5. We bring together a brief summary of her welfare …

Raging Bull: How the controversy over Jallikattu ended up saving the Pulikulam breed

The ban over Jallikattu and its subsequent lifting has made breeders in Tamil Nadu more conscious about conserving the cattle breed used in the …

‘To promote renewable, pair it with gas or hydro’

Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (TANGEDCO)’s chairman, Vikram Kapur was asked to appear before the Madras High Court …

Tamil Nadu power regulator orders against solar output cut

Curtailment of power means power plants are asked not to inject power into the grid despite availability

Why there is an algal bloom in Gulf of Mannar and how it affects livelihood

A recent algal bloom in the Gulf of Mannar, caused allegedly due to pollution from Sri Lanka, highlights how fragile our coral reefs are

Madras High Court directs to restrict plastic flag use in elections

The court has asked the Election Commission to come up with a concrete plan to curtail their usage

Pongal 2023: Indigenous cattle, prized in Tamil Nadu, are on the decline; can they be saved

Whether or not Jallikattu helps conserve Tamil Nadu’s indigenous breeds of cattle, the fact remains that these breeds are in peril like …

Neelakurinji: Blue bloom in a blue moon

2018 is the year when the shrub is flowering again in the hills of South India. Here is its story