-Down to Earth West Bengal, along with Bangladesh, received two million on-ground lightning bolts The region of West Bengal in India and Bangladesh is among the most vulnerable in South Asia to lethal lightning strikes, according to a recent report. West Bengal received the highest number of lightning strikes per square kilometer in 2020, followed by Jharkhand, according to South Asia lightning Report ,2020 by Earth Networks, a global weather intelligence agency. The company’s...

-TheCitizen.in There is no evidence of a population explosion in either India or Uttar Pradesh Women’s groups, health experts and civil society groups have written to the President of India raising concerns and opposing the Draft Uttar Pradesh Population Control Bill 2021. The bill’s main objective is to implement a two-child norm by punishing adults with more than two children, and rewarding those who comply. Following in the steps of BJP-governed Assam, the disincentives...

-Citizen's Report on Year Two of the NDA-II Government 2020-2021: Promises and Reality, Civil Society Initiative, Coordinated by Wada Na Todo Abhiyan, released in July, 2021  “Promises & Reality – Citizens’ Report on the Year Two of the NDA II Government, 2020-21” is a collective work by eminent members and organisations of the Indian civil society. The report covers a wide array of concerns and issues in thematic areas including health,...

-TheWire.in The Press Club of India, Mumbai Press Club and Indian Women’s Press Corps have all condemned the attempted and successful surveillance on journalists and others. New Delhi: Several journalists’ bodies have condemned the attempted and successful surveillance on phones linked to journalists, ministers and officials, among others, as revealed in reports under the Pegasus Project following investigation carried out by The Wire and several other global media organisations. Describing it as “unprecedented”...

Scientific knowledge has immensely helped in combating the dreadful coronavirus and its spread. Within a record short period of time, scientists (including virologists, epidemiologists, biostatisticians, etc.) and their research outputs helped the commoners to learn more about the SARS-CoV-2 and how it spreads from one individual to the next one. Common people have now come to know how simple techniques and behavioural change like the wearing of N95 masks, maintaining...