GENRE: Explainers

For birdwatchers, naturalists or concerned citizens curious to know more about the wildlife in their neighbourhood lakes, parks, and gardens, a new tool offers an exciting opportunity. Mapping Your Neighbourhood Avifauna or MYNA, a data exploration tool, allows users to visualise birdlife in green spaces around their neighbourhoods. MYNA is a data exploration tool created by the State of India’s Birds team. The State of India’s Birds (SOIB) is a report that assesses the status of over 900 bird species in the country, using citizen science data. The data comes from hobby birdwatchers or citizen scientists, who record their observations…

With more than 7000 kilometers of coastline, India ranks 20 in the world among the countries with the longest coastline. Preserving this coastline from excessive construction is crucial for maintaining the ecological balance and safeguarding the fragile coastal environment.  Uncontrolled development along the coastline can lead to habitat destruction, erosion, and disruption of natural processes that are vital for the well-being of marine ecosystems. In order to protect coastal ecology and conserve the coastal environment, the Government of India issued the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) in 1991. This plays a pivotal role in mitigating the adverse impacts of construction on…

As the city continues to grow and evolve, so does the need for robust fire safety preparedness. Chennai has had its fair share of fire accidents, claiming lives and gutting properties. This Diwali weekend, the fire department received more than 100 calls, most of them for minor incidents. According to the data from the Tamil Nadu Fire and Rescue Services, there has been a noticeable uptick in fire mishaps over the past few years. In 2022, Tamil Nadu recorded over 19,206 fire-related emergencies, and 67 lives lost to fire hazards. Property worth 29.76 crores was lost, underlining the financial impact…

Few can resist the temptation of taste bud-tickling instant noodles, refreshing fruity drinks, cold beverages, health drinks, bhujiyas, soy sticks, or cereals and confectionery products like biscuits and chocolates. A critical question, however, is whether they are even aware that all these pre-packaged items form a part of the harmful junk food brigade known as ultra-processed foods, or UPF, which are known to be associated with non-communicable diseases. What is more, these are often presented as healthy food options using misleading advertisements, as a recent report points out.  The report titled The Junk Push: Rising Ultra-processed Food Consumption in India…

Every time the rainy season brings its share of thundershowers and gusty winds, Roshni Pillai, a resident of Thiruvanmiyur is wary of taking her three-year-old out of the house. Last year, the little girl caught a respiratory infection during the monsoons, which took a while to resolve. "Children are vulnerable to seasonal infections, especially during the monsoons and we are being careful so that the severe cough and runny nose do not come back," says Roshni. With the onset of the rainy season, diseases tend to surge, creating health concerns for residents. Meanwhile, Chennai's public health system is also gearing…

The elderly population in India is rapidly rising with those above 60 years of age set to constitute 15% of the population by 2036 (22.7 crore), according to the India Ageing Report-2023 released by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). From constituting about 10.5% (14.9 crore) of the population in 2022, the population of senior citizens is likely to increase to 20% in 2050 (34.7 crore), thus throwing up new challenges related to their safety, well-being and health. The report also stressed on the need to focus on policies and programmes to meet the needs of the elderly, especially older…

When discussing solar panels and the energy they produce, often the question whether it's genuinely environmentally friendly pops up. Many discussions revolve around what happens to solar panels when they're no longer in use. How will they be disposed of? Will they be recycled? Do we have the resources to recycle them? If not, does this energy source remain as green as we thought? Due to the lifespan of solar panels (25 to 30 years) and the failure to design for re-use or recycling at initial stage, India will begin to see large volumes of solar panels reaching the disposal…

India is working hard to find cleaner ways to produce energy. In response to the escalating daily surge in carbon emissions and the shift from conventional thermal energy generation to environmentally sustainable and green energy sources, various renewable energy projects, including wind energy, solar energy, tidal power, hydroelectricity, and more are in the works. One notable addition to this green energy portfolio is the concept of green hydrogen. This technology is poised to attract substantial investments worth millions of rupees, all over the country in the not-so-distant future. It holds the potential to assume an important role in meeting the…

On 3rd October, the State Cabinet approved a proposed amendment under the Maharashtra Apartment Ownership Act to forcibly evict tenants that opposed redevelopment. The state has more than 1 lakh buildings that fall under the purview of this Act. The proposal was submitted by a 15-member committee of the State Housing Federation. The committee was formed in 2020 by the state government under the then divisional joint registrar Jyoti Latkar-Mete. The proposal was finalised in 2021 and submitted to the state cooperation in April this year. Once the amendment comes into force, members who refuse to vacate their flats for redevelopment in…

In a recent development, the State Education Department issued a directive to all regional deputy directors of education and district education officers. They are tasked with identifying and consolidating small schools within their respective jurisdictions by October 15, aiming to integrate them into larger schools as part of the 'cluster school' initiative. If realised, this program will entail approximately 200,000 students commuting considerable distances to access education. While this initiative has been in the planning stages for several months, its core objective is to improve the quality of education. This would be achieved by exposing students to a larger peer…