Elementary failure

Since the Right To Education Act came into force on April 1, 2010, India has been witnessing an experiment that involves parents in enforcing a …

Science for ecology

Down To Earth and the Centre for Science and Environment announce the winner of the 2001 Green Scientist Award. In the exercise to rate the …

What goes down must come up

It is a crime. Numerous factories deliberately inject untreated effluents directly into the ground, contaminating underground aquifers. Down To …

The CNG sabotage

To clean up Delhi's air, the Supreme Court ruled in July 1998 that all public transport should move away from diesel and towards compressed …

Republic quaked

Gujarat is paying a heavy price for a calamity that is by far the biggest government-made disaster since Independence. As the state crawls out …

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 …

Orphans of the river

Riverine fisherfolk, arguably the oldest among traders, are being sold down the river. An unholy synergy of poisoned rivers, government apathy …

Hiware Bazar - A village with 54 millionaires

Hiware Bazar, a village in Maharashtra's drought-prone Ahmednagar district, was sliding into an abyss after degrading its environment. But in …

I am green by choice , not by chance

Probably the first chief minister of Delhi to have taken a keen interest in the environment, Shiela Dixit has got a mixed response for her …

The small big polluter

Small-scale industries: Where regulations are meaningless and pollution control an unaffordable luxury. Can they leapfrog to cost-effective …

Nothing to bank on

The government’s much-hyped Direct Benefit Transfer programme has hit a roadblock. Banks have failed to meet the huge demand for opening …

Clash of the cyberworlds

In an increasingly digital world, the issue of Internet freedom and governance has become hugely contested. Censorship and denial of access occur …

Battle for the Internet

As the Internet becomes the public square and the marketplace of our world, it is increasingly becoming a contested terrain. Its potential for …

A Renewable Crisis

The last time there was a major push for renewable energy alternatives to polluting fossil fuels was in the aftermath of 1970s oil shock. And then,…

Long yarn

The cotton story is a tangled tale. In many parts of India, farmers are committing suicide. It's been a while Andhra Pradesh, Punjab and now …

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 …

There's nothing august about Mumbai

July 26, 2005: It began raining at 11 am. In the next 24 hours, India's most populous city received 944 mm of rainfall. The resultant flood …

‘Tribals turn extremists because states are too busy making money from land’

The world’s largest democracy is facing a surge in tribal uprisings. The recent killings of Mahendra Karma and other Congress leaders in …

Dilemmas of self-rule

In Jharkhand, movement for self-rule is about seeking better governance and community rights over natural resources

At 25, Panchayati Raj has become a powerful development instrument

Panchayats have become a kind of systematic investment plan for political parties to deepen their influence

Missing spirit of CSR: Structural causes of the challenge

A secure structural framework with well-defined categories is the need of the hour for CSR to make any sustainable impact

Can government be its own watchdog?

The Union government has finally set itself free. No longer will it have to perform the dirty, stressful and thankless task of redressing …

CSR in India: 'Long-term vision is a must'

Dinesh Agarwal, ex-GM & CSR head, NTPC was drafting member of Ministry of Corporate Affairs' national guidelines on responsible business …

Book review: Social Watch India

Governance acts as the mid-wife for development. Accountable and responsive governance is the surest way for perfect delivery of the fruits of …