What are ‘bioplastics’? Bioplastics are plastics derived from renewable biomass sources, such as vegetable fats, corn starch, straw, woodchips, food waste etc. Bioplastic can be made from agricultural by-products and also from used plastic bottles and other containers using microorganisms. Unlike conventional plastics, bioplastics can be broken down by microbes in industrial composting facilities within six months.  Source: Wikipedia How ‘bioplastic’ … Continue reading Bioplastics.

There are four ancient Negrito tribal communities in the Andaman Islands (the Great Andamanese, Onge, Jarawa and Sentinelese) and two Mongoloid tribal communities in the Nicobar Islands (the Shompen and Nicobarese).  Why are Sentinelese in news? In November 2018, an American national John Allen Chau illegally entered the forbidden North Sentinel island and got allegedly … Continue reading The Sentinelese Tribe.

What is MCLR? The marginal cost of funds based lending rate (MCLR) refers to the minimum interest rate of a bank below which it cannot lend, except in some cases allowed by the RBI. It is an internal benchmark or reference rate for the bank. MCLR actually describes the method by which the minimum interest … Continue reading Marginal Cost of funds based Lending rate (MCLR).

“As per an United Nations estimate, the population of the world by 2050 will stand at 9.7 billion and the arable area will come down by one-third.” As climate is changing, creating resilient food systems has become the need of the hour. Across the world, agriculture is facing multiple setbacks, be it in the form of … Continue reading Zero Budget Natural Farming.

Background: The Hybrid-Annuity Model or HAM was introduced in January 2016 to revive investments in road infrastructure projects. What is Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM)? HAM is a mix of the EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) and BOT (build, operate, transfer) models.  What is EPC? - Under the EPC model, National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) … Continue reading Hybrid Annuity Model.

Authors: Shalini Iyengar and Balakrishna Pisupati The right to food is a well established principle of international human rights law. It has evolved to include an obligation for state parties to respect, protect, and fulfil their citizens’ right to food security. Our current understanding of food security includes the four dimensions of access, availability, utilisation … Continue reading Summary – The Hindu – Available, accessible, but not stable

Plastic is clearly an environmental crisis, with an estimated eight million animal-killing tonnes entering the oceans each year. Relevant data: In the last 70 years, 8.3 billion tonnes of plastic have been produced. Of the 8.3 billion tonnes of plastic produced, 6.3 billion tonnes have been discarded. Every year, nearly 13 million tonnes of plastic waste … Continue reading Plastic Problem and associated dimensions.

Across India’s agrarian plains, plantations and orchards, millions of birds, bats and insects toil to pollinate crops. However, many of these thousands of species may be in dangerous decline. How do pollinators help agriculture? Pollinators lead to huge agricultural economic gains. The annual economic value of the crops pollinated by animals worldwide is estimated to … Continue reading The role of pollinators.

What is HIV – AIDS? Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is a virus that attacks cells in the immune system, which is our body’s natural defence against illness. The virus destroys a type of white blood cell in the immune system called a T-helper cell, and makes copies of itself inside these cells. T-helper cells are … Continue reading HIV and AIDS in India