Columns - English

  • Pro-GM lobby is the biggest enemy of biotechnology – Here is why

    PUBLISHED IN:
    Financial Express

    The pro-gm lobby is pushing for a weak regulatory system for the quick introduction of GM foods in the market, hurting the growth of biotech in the long run.

  • Garbage management is about fighting corruption

    PUBLISHED IN:
    Financial Express

    There is too much money in waste (mis)management. Proper waste management will mean less money for the corrupt and the criminals

  • What’s next for flood-devastated Kerala?

    PUBLISHED IN:
    Financial Express

    An estimated 25–30 trillion litres of water fell over the state, enough to cause floods even if Kerala’s ecosystem was in pristine condition

  • Why the credibility of FSSAI is key to promoting biotech in India

    PUBLISHED IN:
    Financial Express

    The food standard regulator has so far not assessed the safety of even one GM food and neither does it have a set procedure to assess safety.

  • Failing the mining-affected – How poor planning and implementation are leading to misplaced investme

    PUBLISHED IN:
    Financial Express

    DMF funds are being diverted for urban projects that have nothing to do with the priorities of mining-affected areas and communities.

  • The unacceptable logic of the markets

    PUBLISHED IN:
    Financial Express

    India is the fourth worst-affected country despite it contributing only 5% in causing climate change, while it is over 20% for the US and the EU.

  • What model does the Swachh Survekshan bat for?

    PUBLISHED IN:
    Financial Express

    The Survekshan ranks cities that do their waste management in a highly decentralised fashion poorly, despite their sustainable waste-management systems.

  • It is time India too recognises its own Dust Bowl

    PUBLISHED IN:
    Financial Express

    As Delhi and parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plains were getting engulfed in a thick cloud of dust last week, a question kept coming to my mind: Is there any similarity between the recent dust storms in India and the dust storms that hit the Great Plains of the United States [...]

  • Draft forest policy misses the wood for the trees

    PUBLISHED IN:
    Financial Express

    The government has recently released the draft National Forest Policy, 2018 (NFP 2018) for public comments. NFP 2018 intends to replace the National Forest Policy of 1988 (NFP 1988). But is there a need for a new forest policy? Let us first analyse the performance of NFP 1988.

  • The politics of samosa-versus-burger

    PUBLISHED IN:
    Financial Express

    Is samosa really healthier than a vegetable burger?’ This is the headline of an article written by noted journalist and food critic Vir Sanghvi, in the Hindustan Times Brunch magazine in early April. Vir wrote this article in reaction to a Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) report, that argued [...]

  • How India can end energy poverty by 2040

    PUBLISHED IN:
    Financial Express

    What would be the energy scenario in India in, say, 25 years from now? This is an important political enquiry as the path we choose would have a pivotal role in determining the country’s economic growth, social development and environmental sustainability. But, before gazing into the crystal ball, let’s analyse [...]

  • Draft pesticide Bill not worth the paper it’s written on

    PUBLISHED IN:
    Financial Express

    As I write this column, I am mindful that I may receive a legal notice from the Centre for Environment and Agrochemicals or the Crop Care Federation of India. These organisations, representing pesticides manufacturers and formulators, have been sending us legal notices for many years. We utter the word pesticides [...]