UN food agency launches digital platform on family farming
The move will allow governments to build stronger policies in favour of family farmers across the world
Celebration of life
In a first, a Bollywood commercial flick delves into a differently abled person's sexuality
Nepal earthquake: reminder for India on structural safety
It is not enough to have codes for making buildings earthquake-resistant, these have to be enforced on ground
How to love farmers-the Modi way
Like its other policies, the BJP government's Land Acquisition Ordinance favours industry at the cost of farmers
A review of the draft Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2015
The new rules propose to increase the thickness of plastic bags to 50 microns so that their cost discourages people from using them. But …
Bihar’s earthquake toll due to poor condition of houses
Census data shows Bihar among the three states with lowest proportion of houses which can be categorised ‘good’
Swine flu: shortage of lab facilities adds to people’s woes
Government hospitals testing only those patients who are in poor condition, complain patients
Unpacking europium, the mainstay of the lighting industry
The rare earth metal is all around us—in flouorescent lamps, display screens, televisions to smart tablets and phones. But is deep mining …
Wait for the monsoon continues
Stalled since about 10 days in a crucial agricultural month like June, the 'mood swings' of the south-west monsoon continue to keep half of India …
Unaware and unprepared
More than 26 asteroids entered Earth's atmosphere between 2000 and 2013. None of them was detected in advance
WHO estimate on air pollution shows Indian cities are death traps
Analysis of database indicates that all 124 Indian cities assessed exceed the WHO guideline for particulate matter levels; Delhi, Patna exceed …
Women’s Day can be special when women are safe
We need a special national police force and sustained public campaign to avert a potentially explosive situation
Gut instinct
Grasshopper gut contains DNA of plants it eats. Data on the pest’s food habits can help devise control strategies
Social ants and social humans
Book>> The social conquest of earth• by Edward O Wilson • Liveright publications • Rs 1,040
Advocate for Hyderabad's threatened lakes
Jasveen Jairath, convener of Save Our Urban Lakes, a citizens initiative for saving water bodies of Hyderabad, talks about the challenges of …
Trials at sea
Book>> Round about the earth • by Joyce E Chaplin • Simon & Schuster • Rs 1,850
Simply creative
General principles of architecture are imaginatively applied to create a green building in Gurgaon
Uncertainty increases over convention terms
As it comes under increasing scrutiny, the biodiversity convention signed last year is proving to be neither good nor bad -- just uncertain. Key …
Delegates stall action on greenhouse gases
Little was achived at the December climate meeting in Geneva by way of setting schedules for future sessions,mainly because of stalling tactics …
Finnish belt-tightening chokes green projects
Faced with the century's worst recession Helsinki has had to cut back heavily on development aid. At stake are several international …
Third World posers for Northern donors
In the new environment-sensitive atmosphere after Rio, two Northern agencies that aid research projects in the developing world are being …
A watered-down capitulation
Who should benefit from biotechnology? The South, where the genes originate, or the North, with its massive gene banks? Commercial interests …
Politics of punctuation
A comma gave rise to an argument over whether technology transfer should take place according to terms agreed upon at Rio or terms mutually …
Southerners win the Rio round
For many southern groups, the greater cause at Rio was to align with their governments against the West's "green imperialism"
Conserving biodiversity and generosity
An offer of desi ber by a village lad came as a sharp comment on the global politics of biodiversity