COVID-19: Bracing for agrarian crisis and food insecurity

Distress among marginal farmers and unavailability of food to migrant labourers has been largely ignored in Union government’s economic …

Public Deprived System

The country’s 76 million poor have been denied the right to claim subsidised foodgrain under public distribution system

Kerala's answer to drought: PPP model for water management

Activists say the move will end up privatising water sources and wetlands; increase water cost manifold

Delhi's water supply skewed and mismanaged

Is the Haryana government really to be blamed for Delhi's water shortage? The answer perhaps lies in understanding the disparity in water supply …

Persistent in folly

Rice and wheat fetch a secure price and subsidies on farm inputs. Coarse grains have no place in the public distribution system, although their …

Rice: the real cost

It is said the future wars would be fought over the issue of water, not land. Yet Indian government promotes rice, which consumes water, over …

Cereal killer

By promotong rice over coarse grains, the government is promoting food scarcity and defeciency of micronutrients among India's most malnourished …

Bolsanaro’s environmental crimes come under EU scanner

Europe’s resolve to act against the Bolsonaro government’s environmental crimes appears to be strengthening

Model in a fix

Chhattisgarh's much appreciated public distribution scheme is falling apart due to corruption and mismanagement

Grain of truth

India's public distribution system promotes rice and wheat. These water-intensive crops require more inputs and are less nutritious as compared …

Eye on accuracy

Realisation to make meters error-free may have come late to India, but technology is making rapid strides

Why better sewage management in Chennai will help fight floods

Down To Earth Editor Sunita Narain explains how the city's three rivers and 320 tanks and lakes that worked as flood barriers are used mostly for …

SC upbraids Centre for 'conniving with tobacco industry'

Directs it to effectively implement rules that severely restrict advertisement, promotion and sponsorship of tobacco products

Rural water and sanitation needs to prioritise sustainability

Prioritising drinking water source sustainability, mix-up of nutrient cycle and reuse of treated biosolids & wastewater …

India, south Asian neighbours must act against trans-fat now: WHO

The countries are among the 15 that account for two-thirds of the deaths linked to the substance

Emergency

Chennai, crippled by water crisis, is also a metaphor for what Indian cities are experiencing in sourcing and managing the most precious natural …

WASH: UN report finds 2030 SDG targets may just be a dream

Plans in place to address water and sanitation issues, countries face hurdles in implementation, says GLAAS report 

Energy access goals need greater effort in post-COVID-19 world: Report

Report calls SDG 7 progress of last few years regarding access to electricity insufficient; says pandemic will make things worse

Coal India to be probed for supply of low grade coal to sponge iron, power plants

Poor quality coal pollutes more; anti-competitive fuel supply agreements also under scanner of Competition Commission of India

Rivers, up close and personal

Over centuries people have learnt to live with rivers. They are part of our lives but over the past 150 years this association has weakened. A …

Hidden hunger?

There is a rush to cash in on micronutrient deficiency in India through fortification of food

Green issues plaguing rural West Bengal missing in Panchayat election campaigns, say activists

Low groundwater levels, cutting of trees and poor waste management not being addressed; political parties pass blame in response

Water in the age of coronavirus

As we confront the new global enemy SARS-COV-2, the availability of water will be a crucial determinant for a successful outcome in this war  

Sardar Sarovar Project faces its toughest challenge

For more than 56 years, farmers in Gujarat have been waiting to get water, but work on the most crucial aspect of Sardar Sarovar dam—…

Rs 1,86,000 cr illusion

Andhra Pradesh’s Jalayagnam irrigation scheme unviable, contract-driven, says CAG draft report