Habitat III: the biggest conference you’ve probably never heard of
More than 25,000 delegates will meet in Quito in October to set out a New Urban Agenda for the UN, to be implemented over the next 20 years
How agriculture can be intensified in Africa without causing harm
Sustainable agriculture in Africa has the ability to act as an example for other regions worldwide. But to do this the approaches and technology …
Road to cool cities: Codes based on unique ‘urban form’ can be helpful
Urban India is a heat trap, but road orientation, building materials and zone-specific master plans can drastically enhance thermal comfort
Yojna Banao Abhiyan - then a hit, now a miss
The local administration in Jharkhand is undermining the decentralised scheme, created to enhance livelihood, manage natural resources and …
NITI Aayog begins business without action plan
Will the Aayog's vision be any different than the top-down approach of its predecessor, the Planning Commission?
Women to the fore
The International Conference on Population and Development is doing more than just providing lip service to the cause of women
Lifting the barriers
Reproductive choice, gender equality and sustainable development are closely connected, say the latest report on the world's population
Talking about air
Participants at a recent workshop in Hyderabad expressed concern over the growing rate of air pollution in South Asia
Urban form and travel to completely change after COVID-19
Central business districts will decline while larger apartments will be in demand as more firms consider making employees work-from-home, a …
COVID-19: Self-sufficient neighbourhoods are needed to make cities resilient
The need is to recognise what a neighbourhood requires and ensure that the planning makes everyday needs available — and accessible&…
The poverty quibble
Government claims a huge drop in poverty numbers but critical indicators—health, malnutrition and wages—continue to be grim. So how …
Over 3 lakh pregnancy losses every year linked to polluted air in South Asia
Northern plains region in India and Pakistan most impacted, meeting India’s air quality standard would have reduced loss by 7 per cent&…
No buyers for e-cars in govt departments, Centre extends deadline
So far, only 652 vehicles have been deployed when the target was 10,000, said Union Minister of State for Power and Renewable Energy RK …
Researchers develop new technology for water management, flood control
The frequency of recording data is higher and it is more economical when compared to tools available in the market currently
Creating foraging-friendly cities can strengthen people-biodiversity connections
Urban foraging can help solve food crisis by changing how we eat
How one Gram Panchayat in Himachal built a waste-free, water-surplus village
Pappla village constructed water-harvesting structures, soak pits and a plastic waste processing plant to transform itself
Environment, forest ministry finalising transfer of Rs 50,000-crore CAMPA funds to states
Compensatory afforestation funds belong to the state and it was kept temporarily with the Centre
A day in a ragpickers’ slum in New Delhi
Ragpickers have remained out of the formal system of employment or benefits, and their condition is getting worse due to alienating policies
Parliamentary panel gives more teeth to Compensatory Afforestation Fund
However the panel’s report tabled in this budget session misses the forests for the trees
India to bid adieu to Five Year Plans
The country will still have Plan documents but they would not adhere to a five year time period
Blinded by figures
By 2010, the world's population will have gone up to 6 billion. But at the recent New York meeting on population and development, counting heads …
The Bulldozer in the Countryside
Imagine an assembly line construction of 17,000 homes on 3,500 acres of land costing US $135 million. Just on the borders of expanding cities. …
Handloom threatened
Textile ministry proposes change in definition of handloom. Weavers fear it can ruin the tradition
Why we need to factor ecosystem services into economic development planning
The multiplier effects of healthy forest cover are enormous in terms of economic, social development objectives
Where SAIL's profits come from
State-owned steel giant’s profits are increasingly from raw material subsidies, not real economic value addition