The notion of planting miles of trees to hold back encroaching deserts is misguided and damaging. We should promote programmes that secure livelihoods and respect dryland ecologies instead.

How did Hari Singh's accession to India come about? Why was the division of Gurdaspur by the Radcliffe Boundary Commission significant? What was the role played by Nehru and Patel in the Kashmir question?

Historian Ramachandra Guha says India would be an "environmental basket-case" even without climate change. He compares effects of colonialism in Nilgiris & Garhwal Himalayas, noting proximity to China & religious tourism in latter threaten sustainability.

We must develop a comprehensive national AI strategy that connects stakeholders to provide a roadmap for responsible AI deployment and increase funding for AI research

Indian scientists have developed the first ever low-pungent mustard that is pest and disease-resistant. It is based on CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing, while being non-GM and transgene-free. Why does this hold significance for consumers and oilseed producers?

While ragging is not a specific offence under the Indian Penal Code, it could be penalised under several of its provisions. Both the Supreme Court and the University Grants Commission have specific guidelines on the subject.

Accelerating economic growth and making it more inclusive, coupled with an increase in farm productivity, can help end malnutrition

World needs more rebalancing against both the US and China. BRICS has not kept its promise

When two hurricanes (or cyclones, depending on where you live), spinning in the same direction, are brought close together, they begin ‘an intense dance around their common center’ – this interaction is called the Fujiwhara effect.

A brief history of the three major programmes of the Indian space agency: satellites, launch vehicles, and planetary exploration.

K Kasturirangan, during whose tenure as ISRO chairman the Moon missions were planned, speaks about the past and the future of India's moonshot moment.

With the Himachal capital battered by rains, landslides and cloudbursts, leading to death and destruction, experts blame faulty structural design and increasing population for the “planned destruction” of the hill town

Committees and reports cannot change the reality that infrastructure development in the hills cannot be executed as in the plains

In Africa, traditional regimes are coming under increased pressure from within and a generation of risk-taking generals are making swift moves to grab power

Climate-change induced deficient rainfall, poor storage of rainwater and water-intensive agriculture are responsible

Launched in 2002, the African Union (AU) is an intergovernmental organisation of 55 member states located on the continent of Africa. What are some its accomplishments and what can be the upshot of its inclusion in G20?

Challenging Chinese Belt and Road clout in the region, the transport and energy corridor builds on strategic and economic synergies, marks breakthrough in post-Partition India's quest for connectivity with the world to the north-west.

The United Nations’ Stocktake report, on the climate crisis, must not be dismissed as yet another technical document

The focus on consumers, which also recognises the need to safeguard privacy in relation to personal data on e-commerce sites, should help ensure a safer digital environment

A new study has found that most of the planetary boundaries have been breached because of human activities. Katherine Richardson, professor of biological oceanography at the University of Copenhagen and lead author of the study, answers five questions about…