What are smart cities?
Smart city may simply mean a place where a smart phone can run all the errands for you. But the Indian urban challenge is not as digital and way …
'Empower women in panchayats first to improve the status of women farmers'
Renowned scientist M S Swaminathan spoke to Kundan Pandey on the private member’s bill initiated by him in Rajya Sabha in 2011 to protect …
SC notice to Haryana, Rajasthan for failing to check mining in the Aravallis
Asks the two states to file report on what they have done to implement the mining ban ordered in 2002
Bihar protests slashing of funds under Indira Awaas Yojana
State was allocated Rs 4,324 crore for IAY last year; the amount has been slashed to Rs 1,962 crore this year
Forests under fire
We need not burn forests to get good fodder for cattle. Our lands are rich with green grass without the fires
Kitchen gadgets
Book>> Consider The Fork • By Bee Wilson • Basic Books • Rs 500
An uncelebrated genius
Book>> Plague And Cholera • by Patrick Deville • Little Brown • US $17
Fungi crucial to diversity
Pathogenic fungi kill seedlings of the same species growing near each other in forests and promote biodiversity
Super food Amaranth: healthy for whom?
People in cities shell out large sums of money for health foods such as Amaranth, little realising that those who grow these super foods don't …
Bihar faces shortage of HIV drug
Activists blame it on poor coordination between NACO and state; say 20,000 patients at risk
Out of catch
Bargi reservoir no longer has enough fish stock. Is it because fishers have been kept out of its management?
Hindu philosophy and environmental pollution
Pilgrims believe that Ganga carrying away all the filth to somewhere else justifies the act of pouring dirt into it
A maha mess
From heavy traffic to insufficient water supply and extreme pollution, the Kumbh mela suffers from serious mismanagement
A decade of loot
At more than Rs 65,000 crore, the mining scam in Odisha has surpassed that in Goa and Karnataka. The penalties, however, came too late
Small island states seek additional funds
Small island countries will test, at a 1994 world conference, the sincerity of Western nations' promise about aiding development, which they made …
Team break-up may turn tables
With many members of India's much appreciated delegation to the 1992 Earth Summit being posted to other duties, lndia needs to plan now to face …
Driving home a point without any solutions
Our Country, The Planet -- Forging a Partnership For Survival Shridath Ramphal Publisher: Island Press, Washington D.C. Price: US $15
The fight over the DEAD
A severe tug of war between the North and the South preceded the unanimous acceptance of the Rio declaration
Life after coalgate
As the apex court cancels 214 illegal coal blocks, people fighting against mining rejoice. But they are uncertain about the land already taken, …
Junk food vs samosa
Why Indian traditional food items and snacks score over a pack of chips or instant noodles even if they have similar levels of fats, salt and sugar
Iconic city or concrete jungle?
A “clean-green” city project spread over 400 hectares in Unaao will prove disastrous for the choked Ganga
Modi’s burden of civilising rural India
Our prime minister’s recognition of ‘uncivilised’ state of rural India means he should be spending more on ‘civilising&…
NASA tests Orion—the spacecraft that might carry people to Mars
The spacecraft is believed to be NASA's best hope for putting people back in space after the retirement of the Space Shuttle program in 1972
NGT asks environment ministry to list asbestos mines; orders health survey of mine workers
Despite a ban on mining of the carcinogenic building and fire-resistant material for the past two decades, NGT’s latest order shows that …
Road Design: Why do Indian cities never get it right?
Even cities in developing countries like Sri Lanka have well-designed streets and roads which encourage walking and cycling