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 …

IT's underbelly

India produces about 400,000 tonnes of electronic waste each year, growing exponentially. Handling this is a great challenge. What adds to it is …

Eye on the storm

Cyclone Phailin has not taken many lives but has left behind a trail of destruction that severely cripples people’s livelihood. What did it …

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 …

'They asked me to withdraw my court case'

P PARDHA SARADHI is tenacious. This mild-mannered professor at the Department of Environmental Studies at the University of Delhi (DU) has …

Kangra safe corners

The Himalaya is the youngest range of mountains in the world are immensely prone to earthquakes. The entire range falls in seismic zone 5 and 4 - …

In search of the missing

In the undivided Koraput district of Orissa, there exist 190 villages that have slowly been pushed off the map of India. Hurled by fast-track …

Vaccine Eloquent

Universal vaccination became part of government policy in 1978. A quarter of a century since, progress has been fitful. In some parts of the …

Whitley Award winner's mission hornbill

Hornbills, the awkward-looking birds with over-sized beaks, are important for the regeneration of Himalayan forests in north-east India. They are …

‘South-East Asia must remain polio-free after certification’

Poonam Khetrapal Singh became the first woman to assume the office of WHO Regional Director for South-East Asia on February 1, 2014. Her priority …

Beyond The Billion

If post-Independence leaders of India had ensured full literacy, a solution would have been in sight for a lot of problems. Population, for one. …

The negotiators

Of India's 18 major rivers, 17 are inter-state. In all cases, the water is intensely fought over. In all cases, there seems no resolution. In …

The precarious geopolitics of phosphorous

Both nitrogen and phosphorous are essential to life. Lynchpins both to global food production, circulating through synthesis or export and then …

GOT IT!

Think tourism in India and the first images that will flash through your mind is -- the Taj Mahal and the Indian tiger. Tigers, and the protected …

Former militant Bijoy Hrankhal on Tripura's tribal needs

Bijoy Kumar Hrankhal was the founder member and vice-president of the Tripura National Volunteer, the first militant group in Tripura. He laid …

A fish moves west

Ten years ago Bangladesh’s rivers were deeper and hilsa plentiful. Silting, dams and pollution pushed the fisher into deep ocean leading to …

Chhattisgarh's Industrial Jungle

Chhattisgarh is set to become the largest producer of thermal power, cement and sponge iron. The push is on to install 77 per cent of India's …

GEAC has power only to withdraw permission

Arjula R Reddy, a plant geneticist, was appointed co-chairperson of the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) in 2009. At present, he …

Peta's Pet

UK-based animal welfare group People for Ethical Treatment of Animals has been campaigning against Indian leather, alleging ill-treatment of …

BIG CAT CONUNDRUM

The tiger occupies a hallowed seat in India. Ecologists believe that millions of small ecological processes live out their routine lives under …

Resurgent polio

Eradicating polio in India is proving to be a tough ask. The disease, which seemed to have been contained a few years ago, is rearing its head …

Meltdown

Till a couple of decades ago Bangalore was a sleepy city -- running to the rhythm of old trading networks and retired people taking their evening …

‘Watershed conservation can benefit 700 million people in 100 big cities’

Indian cities are struggling to fight water stress. Cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Jodhpur are going to areas located far away to source …

‘Separate power feeders can greatly improve rural electrification’

Over 65 years after Independence, nearly half of the 800 million people living in rural India are yet to get access to electricity. A major …

A midsummer dream

Anyone will tell you that follow-ups are not a story. Journalism is not about following stories of specific villages and how they fare year after …