Society, Culture, Religion and History

Featured Articles
January 13, 2022
Water management in the times of Gonds of Central India
The water structures constructed during the Gond period continue to survive the test of time and provide evidence of the water wisdom of our ancestors.
Kundeshwar lake, Kundam in Jabalpur (Image Source: K G Vyas)
January 2, 2021
The fast disappearing traditional water harvesting structures of Rajasthan
Lack of community ownership and local governance are spelling doom for the once royal and resilient traditional water harvesting structures of Rajasthan.
Toorji Ka Jhalara, Jodhpur (Image Source: Rituja Mitra)
December 7, 2020
Not in the interest of women farmers!
The new farm related bills will spell doom for women workers who form the bulk of small and marginal sections of Indian agriculture, warns Mahila Kisan Adhikaar Manch (MAKAAM).
Farm women, overworked and underpaid (Image Source: India Water Portal)
December 11, 2019
Scientists intervene to save dry toilets
Dry toilets have long been hailed as a sustainable solution to the sanitation and waste management crisis facing India today, but have been overshadowed by more modern toilet designs.
A traditional dry toilet. Image: India Science Wire
December 4, 2019
In wake of climate change, prioritise and invest in water security and clean drinking water
To adapt well & build resilience, climate change strategies need to factor in efforts towards water security, writes Vanita Suneja, Regional Advocacy Manager (South Asia), WaterAid.
Image credit: WaterAid/Prashanth Vishwanathan
December 2, 2019
Water stewardship approach to minimizing risks for businesses
Water stewardship is an approach predicated on the concept that water is a shared resource and so water risks are also shared risks that everyone in a catchment will face
Picture credit: Romit Sen
Whose forests, whose rights?
While forest bureaucracy has been trying to undermine reforms in forest governance in India, the need for community level forest governance is more urgent than ever.
Sharachchandra Lele
Posted on 15 Jan, 2020 02:58 PM

India’s forest sector, at crossroads
Mangar Bani, a green patch between Faridabad and Gurgaon (Image: Pradip Krishen, Facebook)
Karnataka farmers cope as wells fail
A study looks at how households adapt to slow-moving environmental changes such as groundwater depletion.
David Blakeslee
Ram Fishman
Veena Srinivasan
Posted on 13 Jan, 2020 07:08 PM

Like in many parts of India, Karnataka’s groundwater is a vital source of irrigation water, but has been depleted by a combination of a prolonged, multi-year drought and intensive extraction. Worsening agro-climatic and environmental conditions are threatening the incomes of smallholder farmers and hampering the continued progress in poverty eradication.
An irrigation well at Randullabad, Maharashtra (Image source: India Water Portal on Flickr; Image used for representational purposes only)
Groundwater variability: The tale of two states
Gujarat shows good groundwater storage while Rajasthan shows severe groundwater depletion, inspite of both states in western India receiving good rainfall. Why is this so?
Rakesh Meghwal
Deep Shah
Vimal Mishra
Posted on 12 Jan, 2020 09:28 AM

India, a groundwater stressed country
Groundwater decline in India (Image Source: India Water Portal)
Water policy for rainfed areas
The new national water policy should take up a comprehensive and integrated view of water resources development with a focus on rainfed areas.
Revitalising Rainfed Agriculture Network
Posted on 10 Jan, 2020 12:12 PM

A committee has been constituted to draft a new National Water Policy (NWP) and make key changes in the water governance structure and regulatory framework. It is chaired by Mihir Shah, who is a former Planning Commission member and a water expert. The committee is expected to produce a report within six months.
Public investments on water in rainfed areas have much higher social rate of returns (Image: Kannan, Flickr Commons, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
Kerala tops SDG index by NITI Aayog
Bihar, Jharkhand and Arunachal Pradesh are at the bottom of NITI Aayog's SDG Index, released recently.
Amita Bhaduri
Posted on 08 Jan, 2020 03:36 PM

Kerala retains the top slot with a score of 70, followed closely by Himachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Telangana in the latest edition of NITI Aayog’s annual assessment of progress made by states in achieving the sustainable development goals (SDG).
Considering the poor performance on SDG implementation in many critical areas such as hunger, there is a need to focus on these (Image: The future of food)
International Conference on “Rivers for Future”
The focal theme of the conference is: River restoration for mitigation of natural hazards.
Posted on 07 Jan, 2020 03:06 PM

The Department of Aquatic Biology & Fisheries, University of Kerala, is organizing an International Conference “Rivers for Future” (RFF-2020). Rivers, the lifeline of people all over the world, are facing increasing threats in Anthropocene, which not only impacts the supply of freshwater, but also threatens the livelihood of millions of people, jeopardizing economic and ecosystem services.
If she built a country: A film review
The film looks at corporate grab of forest and private lands in the Scheduled Areas of Chhattisgarh.
Amita Bhaduri
Posted on 04 Jan, 2020 10:49 AM

Maheen Mirza’s film ‘Agar wo desh banati/ If she built a country’ looks at the widespread displacement on an unprecedented scale for mines and industries in Raigarh, Chhattisgarh.
The documentary brings attention to how development interventions changed gender relations (Image courtesy: People's Film Collective)
India's composite score improves in SDG index with major success in water and sanitation
News this week
Swati Bansal
Posted on 02 Jan, 2020 10:46 AM

Sustainable development goals index 2019-20: India's composite score improves
Sustainable Development Goals adopted in 2015 as a part of the 2030 agenda. (Source: Wikipedia Commons)
Nilogon for fluoride removal from groundwater
This unique low cost fluoride removal technology is not only affordable, but is also easy to operate as a water treatment filter with high efficiency suitable for rural application.
Amita Bhaduri
Posted on 01 Jan, 2020 10:41 AM

Groundwater contamination has emerged as an alarming issue in India and a recent UN report reveals that India ranks 120th among the 122 countries in terms of water quality index.
Studies by the Central Ground Water Board in November 1999 confirmed the presence of fluoride in Assam which paved the way for the UNICEF and the government to collaborate on fluoride mitigation. (Image: India Water Portal)
Junk food red alert
A study by CSE rings the alarm bells on processed food responsible for obesity and non-communicable diseases.
Amita Bhaduri
Posted on 29 Dec, 2019 12:50 PM

A new study by the Centre for Science and Environment has exposed that levels of salt and fat in junk food is far higher than proposed thresholds in the country.
The study by CSE underlines the need to regulate bad food (Image: Ankur Gulati, Flickr Commons)
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