‘People often talk of the Gandhian model of development, but if such a model is genuinely Gandhian then it is not about development’
Mahatma Gandhi never used the words environment protection. However what he said and did makes him an environmentalist. His writings are replete …
Private sector is profiting from vacuum left by ICAR
In the agriculture research hierarchy, Swapan Kumar Datta occupies the second rung, one of eight deputy director generals (DDGs) in the Indian …
'Punjab Contract Farming Act protects traders’ interests'
In April this year, the Punjab Assembly passed the Punjab Contract Farming Act. The new law provides a legal framework to regulate contract …
From the dirtiest to the cleanest: Mexico City’s journey
Mexico City is today recognised as one of the cleanest cities in the world, and the credit for this goes to Marcelo Ebrard Casaubon who recently …
How MEA torpedoed the Bangladesh-India gas pipeline
Mani Shankar Aiyar is known for the many controversies sparked by his provocative comments and controversial ideas. As minister for petroleum and …
The many ways of GM contamination
Doug Gurian-Sherman, a senior scientist in the food and environment programme at the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), is among the most …
‘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 …
Organic goes online
India’s organic food exports have found a new strength—online traceability. Web-based TraceNet can trace an organic product right …
Dealing with crop stresses and scandals
Subbanna Ayyappan has made history in the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (IACR) by becoming the first non-crop scientist to head this …
Towards food security: perspectives from three continents
The Food Insecurity Report 2014, released by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) last week, has revealed that one …
How to contain Himalayan tsunamis
The Himalaya has one of the most fragile topographies among mountain ranges of the world on account of being the youngest. Even though its phase …
The past and present of rivers
Author(s): Karuna Futane We are a generation that has turned flowing fresh water rivers to rivers of sewage and garbage. We have lost rivers. …
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 …
19 years of reportage on nuclear energy, quakes & tsunami
The first nuclear story Down To Earth (DTE) reported was on Japan. Sixteen years ago, DTE carried a story on 14 tonnes of UK's nuclear waste that …
Gandhi on capitalism
A rare interview extracted from 'An Interview with Gandhi' by French Journalist Charles Petrasch, which he took at London in 1931 (Courtesy: …
Gandhi as a human ecologist
Gandhi-Luthuli Chair Professor, School of Politics, Howard College, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa
Climate change meeting begins in Bonn
New deal must not attempt to rewrite or reinterpret the Convention, say developing countries
'Planning Commission big stumbling block in the path of India's progress'
The demand for universal public distribution system is justified, says Congress leader and former cabinet minister Mani Shankar Aiyar. He spoke …
Maharashtra proposes green cess on old vehicles
Transport, taxi unions oppose the move BY RAJIL MENON Mumbai
Remembering Virendra Kumar: a humanist, botanist and scholar
Associated with the Chipko movement, Kumar was a botanist with a difference. He saw elements of botany as part of natural evolution intertwined …
Your action plan may not clean Ganga in 200 years: SC tells Centre
Apex court directs government to present a time-bound action plan in power point in three weeks
Gram sabha to be consulted on Vedanta's mining project, says SC
Apex court gives Sterlite, OMCL three months to submit project proposal to affected gram sabhas
Goa government turns focus on illegal mining in forests
Letter from revenue officer of Sanguem taluka complaining about illegal mining in forestland rang the alarm
Chlorine leak in Mumbai suburb sends 120 to hospital
Unclaimed chlorine cylinders at port trust premises were not neutralised despite warnings