THE GREAT NREGA MUDDLE

It is the 48th day of the NREGA Sangharsh, or agitation, at Jantar Mantar, the well-known protest site in Delhi. One set of speakers from West Bengal is making fiery speeches in Bengali, demanding dearness allowance arrears, filling of vacancies in government

JOSHIMATH: AUTOPSY OF AN UNFOLDING DISASTER

The story of largescale land subsidence in the hill town of Joshimath in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand is what an existential crisis looks like in real life. It’s also a story that foretells what the future holds for many of the Himalayan

‘THEIR ATTITUDE HAS BEEN TO SPREAD CONFUSION AND FEAR’

On October 18, 2022, the government approved the release of genetically modified (GM) mustard hybrid, Dhara Mustard Hybrid (DMH-11) for seed production and also the release of its GM parental lines for developing new parental lines and hybrids before its commercial release.

Code Orange: The looming threat to food security

Avinash, 42, stood at the edge of his seven acres of farmland at Orhanpur village in Nawada district of Bihar, staring at what could have been land full of paddy swaying in the light breeze, golden in the reflection of the rising

BONFIRE OF FOREST RIGHTS

The regulations which the government notified in June vest the central government with the power to approve the diversion of forest land for industrial and infrastructural purposes without the consent of forest-dweller gram sabhas, greatly abridging the rights they are entitled to

Raising A Stink

As one drives towards Chandigarh, a short distance past the gurudwara at Majnu Ka Tilla in North Delhi, a looming mountain comes into view through Delhi’s haze. The size of the mountain starts to grow bigger on the approach to the GT

The Age of Drones

At the Bharat Drone Mahotsav (drone festival) in May, Prime Minister Narendra Modi sent out a strong message for ushering in transformational change by making India the hub of drone manufacturing by 2030. By flying a drone himself, the PM probably tried

Trapped By The Web

In India, more than five cases of cybercrime are reported on an average every hour, according to the statistics compiled by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). The Bureau, under the Ministry of Home Affairs, is responsible for collecting and analysing crime

Big Brother Looms Larger

A law which Parliament approved in early April to replace a 102-year-old piece of legislation and give legal backing to the collection of measurements of convicts and other persons is so wide in its ambit regarding both personal data points that can