Research Papers

Weather or not: Women workers need care in summer
There is a grave health concern around women manual workers who work under extreme conditions of heat with poor access to sanitary facilities. This needs urgent redressal at the policy level. Posted on 11 Jan, 2017 10:49 AM

In a tropical country like India, the summer months are hot which threaten the health of millions of people every year.

Women work under poor working conditions. (Source: Wkimedia Commons)
Sanitation and the risk of sexual violence
A study finds increased risk of sexual violence among women who defecate in the open due to lack of proper sanitation facilities. Posted on 21 Dec, 2016 09:08 PM

While nearly half of the world’s population (42 percent) lacks access to improved sanitation conditions, India is the worst performer in sanitation coverage, even below those countries with half of the households (53 percent) not having access to toilets.

Lack of access to sanitation and the risk of sexual violence. (Source: India WASH Forum)
Mining of rare earth minerals poisons land and water
Potential threats of environmental deterioration continue to be ignored in Kollam partly due to the difficulty in regulating an industry that produces resources of high strategic importance. Posted on 06 Dec, 2016 12:49 PM

Mining and processing of heavy and rare earth minerals can produce a tremendously negative impact on the land and environment in the area, the magnitude and intensity of which depends on the kind of chemicals and processes used, the efforts taken in the management of waste as well as on environmental fragility of the location.

Sand mining and environmental pollution (Source: Wikimedia Commons)
Traditional ways to water security
Reviving traditional water bodies, and not environmentally-unsustainable mega projects which are expensive, is the most viable solution to deal with water scarcity in parched lands like Bundelkhand. Posted on 04 Dec, 2016 08:15 PM

Although droughts are not new in India, we are seeing more of it of late.

A traditional pond in the fort city of Charkhari, Bundelkhand. (Source: India Water Portal)
Mumbai’s vanishing coasts
The implementation of the CRZ rules and prioritising the needs of fishing communities by involving them in the process is the right and holistic approach to end coastal deterioration. Posted on 21 Nov, 2016 10:22 AM

The coastal regions of India are becoming increasingly vulnerable to climate changes, developmental activities and urbanisation. Sustaining the livelihoods of fishing communities and preserving the health of coastal ecosystem and biodiversity are important challenges that India faces.

The deteriorating coasts of Mumbai. (Source: Wikimedia Commons)
Water sharing: Beyond economic concerns
It is important to look at rivers from an ecological point of view to solve transboundary water issues amicably. Posted on 15 Nov, 2016 11:49 AM

The Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna (GBM) basin is the third largest river flow system in the world with an annual runoff about 1,150 billion cubic meters (BCM) and the peak outflow of 1,41,000 cumecs.

The lower Ganga, just upstream of Farakka, displays bank cutting and erosion. (Source: India Water Portal)
When neighbours fight for water
As conflict over sharing of river Brahmaputra threatens to raise its ugly head again, cooperation, not competition between China, India and Bangladesh alone can solve the issue Posted on 25 Oct, 2016 02:12 PM

With recent reports of China blocking a tributary of the Brahmaputra in Tibet to construct its most expensive hydro project, the Assam government has been worried.

The river Brahmaputra (Source: Wikimedia Commons)
Health check up for the rivers
While the health of the rivers needs to be comprehensively assessed to bring the contamination down, public participation remains crucial in keeping the rivers alive. Posted on 14 Oct, 2016 06:16 PM

A severe crisis is plaguing the rivers in India.

The Krishna river, Wai, Maharashtra. (Source: India Water Portal)
Why is Lukha feeling blue?
Heavily polluted and poisoned at its confluence with the Lunar river, the Lukha turns mysteriously blue as it flows downstream. The studies are on to know the cause. Posted on 24 Sep, 2016 09:07 PM

Meghalaya in the northeast of India is richly endowed with natural resources such as streams and rivers as well as mineral resources such as coal, limestone, clay, sillimanite, uranium, and more. The estimated coal reserve in Meghalaya is around 576.48 million tonnes while limestone reserves are around 15,100 million tonnes.

The Lukha river in Meghalaya. (Source: Wikimedia Commons)
MGNREGA demands makeover
A decade after its implementation, MGNREGA is in shambles. Taking Jharkhand as an example, a paper analyses what went wrong and how to rectify the mistakes. Posted on 23 Sep, 2016 09:04 PM

The article, The MGNREGA crisis: Insights from Jharkhand, published in the Economic and Political Weekly dated May 28, 2016, provides an overview of the status of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act or MGNREGA in India.

Labourers build check dams under MGNREGA. (Source: IWP Flickr Photos)
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