-Scroll.in There is an entangled web of issues related to caste, class and religion that defines disparate land imaginaries in the state. In Uttarakhand, land is a political flashpoint. A controversial 2018 law introduced by state legislature now allows outsiders to buy land in the Himalayan state. In 2018, as these laws were coming into force, I asked Bhim, an elderly man from a backward caste, what he thought about it all....

-Down to Earth China and India might be some of the countries where the green transition may also be slowed down because Russia would shift their energy exports to them, experts say India used 13 per cent more coal to generate electricity in 2021 than the previous year, given the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a recent analysis from the International Energy Agency (IEA). This figure is going to increase in the future,...

-Down to Earth Incentivising farmers to sell solar power as a remunerative crop can help reduce the usage of diesel pumps The irrigation-energy nexus in India's agriculture sector is characterised primarily by depleting groundwater and a growing debt burden of power distribution companies (DISCOM). This is due to massive power subsidies that remain underfunded by the states.   The Government of India (GoI) has been promoting solar irrigation pumps by offering substantial investment...

-Down to Earth Encroachment of pastureland was possible because government doesn't recognise them as village commons, say locals Some Indian states saw a string of protests over the last couple of months against renewable energy projects on village land, even as the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic was raging in the country.  On July 6, 2021, police officials lathi charged locals participating in a dharna against plans to lay electricity lines across pasturelands...

-Newsclick.in In a recent paper published in the Bioscience journal, the scientists highlighted that the world will face grave dangers if immediate global actions are not taken to stop climate change. Let us no more turn a deaf ear to the disastrous possibilities of the unabated climate change due to human activities, let us immediately tackle climate change, let us script policy change, if the human race is to avoid the ‘untold...